NELFUND has eased financial burden on poor students – Shettima

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Vice President Kashim Shettima has described the Nigerian Education Loan Fund as a landmark initiative that has provided crucial financial relief to children from poor backgrounds and removed financial barriers to higher education.

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Shettima said the fund, established by the President Bola Tinubu administration, had become a vital social equaliser and a major mechanism for poverty alleviation and the advancement of education in Nigeria.

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The Vice President stated this on Wednesday in a statement issued by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media & Communications, Stanley Nkwocha.

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He received the management team of the University of Abuja, led by its Vice Chancellor, Prof. Hakeem Fawehinmi.

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According to him, NELFUND has ensured that poverty is no longer an excuse for students from less-privileged backgrounds to be denied access to tertiary education by covering tuition fees and providing monthly upkeep allowances.

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Recalling his days as a student at the University of Maiduguri when food prices surged at the cafeteria, Shettima said, “NELFUND is a very beautiful initiative by the leadership of this country under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, created to give respite and breathing space to the children of the poor.”

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The Vice President also said Nigeria had crossed the Rubicon and was firmly on the path of sustainable economic development under the Tinubu administration.

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He attributed the recent upgrade of Nigeria’s sovereign credit ratings and outlooks by global rating agencies to stronger foreign exchange reserves, higher oil production, increased federal allocation following the removal of the fuel subsidy and the ongoing macroeconomic reforms of the Renewed Hope administration.

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Shettima commended the management of the University of Abuja under Hakeem Fawehinmi, saying the Vice Chancellor had provided leadership that had helped overcome challenges that confronted the institution in the past.

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He said the university was now standing on a solid pedestal, with real stability restored to the institution, and pledged that the Federal Government would do everything within its ability to provide the school with the needed support.

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Earlier, Fawehinmi commended Shettima for supporting and spearheading the growth and developmental strides of the Tinubu administration.

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The Vice Chancellor described Shettima as a mentor whose leadership qualities had assisted the university’s Governing Board in managing the institution, while seeking the government’s partnership to move the country forward.

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“We have always known you to be a highly cerebral and dynamic leader. We appreciate the generous strides you are making in the country. We are not surprised at your intellectual agility,” he stated.

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Fawehinmi said NELFUND, under the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Tinubu, had assisted immensely in bringing relative stability to the nation’s education sector, noting that students were able to attend school and sustain their stay in the institutions.

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He added that the management and Governing Council of the University of Abuja deemed it necessary to thank the Vice President for the support he had consistently given to the institution.

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“Our recent history in terms of leadership has not been very palatable. There have been issues to do with our checkered history, but in the last eight months when we came on board, we tried our very best to stabilize the university,” he explained.

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