The Concerned Igbo Stakeholders Forum (CISF) has decried the non-inclusion of any higher institution in the South-East as a beneficiary in the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) Student loan.
The stakeholders in a statement described it as a joke taken too far.
SaharaReporters reported on Friday that the President Bola Tinubu-led Nigerian government reportedly excluded tertiary institutions in the South-East from the initial list of beneficiaries in the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) disbursement.
According to NELFUND’s circular, over N2.9billion has been allocated and distributed as loans for tuition fees to more than 27,000 students across 19 higher education institutions in Nigeria.
But none of these institutions is located in the South-East, while at least one institution from each of the other five geopolitical zones is included.
However, NELFUND has claimed that there was no form of discrimination in the disbursement of student loans to students from institutions across the country, blaming institutions in the South East for not getting the money.
Reacting to the development, the leader of the Concerned Igbo Stakeholders Forum wondered how students from every other geopolitical region in the country made it to the first batch of disbursement except their counterparts in the South East.
“This is not how to manage a diverse and multicultural society like Nigeria. What impression does Mr. President want Nigerian students schooling in the Southeast to have about their place in the scheme of things,” the group questioned.
CISF said that the claims by the NELFUND that “there is no consideration of geopolitical zones in the disbursement,” is not sustainable and unfounded.
The CISF notes with curiosity why, by chance, the Southeast region that has long complained of marginalisation is the only region ‘unintentionally’ excluded from this first batch of interventions. “This cannot be a coincidence but simply a case of negligence.”
“The claim by NELFUND about the late compliance with verification by institutions in the Southeast is also unfounded. Provided that at least one institution in the Southeast had complied before the recent release of the list by beneficiaries, it is enough to coopt the institution in the first batch to demonstrate FG’s commitment to the Federal Character principle.
“The Concerned Igbo Stakeholders Forum hereby calls on President Tinubu to recall that list and, as a matter of urgency, order the inclusion of three to four institutions from the Southeast.
“It should be noted that Igbos are equal stakeholders in the Nigerian project and must be respected as such,” the group warned.
