The Executive Governor of Osun State, Senator Ademola Adeleke has tasked the management of Nigerian Education Loan Fund, NELFUND to innovate within its mandate on how to make its operations sustainable, urging that Nigerian Students must never experience debt trap in the loan operations.
Speaking while hosting NELFUND management on Tuesday in Osogbo, the Governor applauded President Tinubu for creating the Fund as a response to the many challenges facing student population and also commend him for demonstrating political will by fast tracking not only the establishment of the Fund but its effective take off.
He stressed that the initiative is a veritable platform to provide a lifeline for many indigents students in various schools as the initiative promises to remove pain and hardship experienced by many brilliant students.
Adeleke however noted that challenges of student loans’ debt has become a crisis of sorts and a subject of hot political debate in the US
The governor emphasised that Nigeria Education Loan Fund system must integrate mechanisms to avoid similar debt trap experience like what is happening in the US.
He said; “I thank you for your kind words. We express our appreciation to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for creating this Fund as a response to the many challenges facing our student population. We commend the President for demonstrating political will by fast tracking not only the establishment of the Fund but its effective take off.
“For us as a state, we have a responsibility to productively partner with the Federal Government for the benefit of our people. When it comes to bringing dividends of democracy to our people, we are blind to partisan politics. Our focus is the improvement of the lives of our people irrespective of where it is coming from.
“As a government, we see the Fund as a veritable platform to provide a lifeline for many indigents students in our various schools. The initiative promises to remove the pain and hardship experienced by many brilliant students. Again, we are elated by the prospects and opportunities for our students , hence our launching into the programme with all machinery of government.
“We are glad our efforts paid off with the enrolment of many Osun schools in the programme. It is gratifying to hear that Osun took the lead among a comity of states in the selection and compliance process. Our next plan is to follow up by further deepening the preparedness of the selected schools for accessing opportunities available within the fund.
“Our gratitude also goes to the management of NELFUND for making the take off so efficient and for the fairness manifested during the selection process. We have strong faith in the capacity of the Fund to continue on the path of openness and equity.
“A round of applause for the Managing Director and other top management of the Fund.
“I must however call our attention to a lesson we must learn as a nation from the operation of the loans board. As a long term resident of the United States, I am aware of the challenge of student loans’ debt. It has become a crisis of sorts. It has also become a subject of hot political debate. It has to do with huge student loan debt in the US
“We must as a nation avoid a similar debt trap. As we have the grace to understudy other nations operating similar funds, we must avoid the pitfalls. Our new system must integrate mechanisms to prevent similar experiences like what is happening in the US.
“I task the management of NELFUND to innovate within its mandate on how to make its operations sustainable. Debt trap must never be experienced in Nigeria’s students’ loan operations.
“Having said the above, we appreciate the recognition of our modest efforts by stakeholders. As a government, we also applaud Mr President for this laudable initiative.”
In his remarks, The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian Education Loan Fund, Mr Akintunde Sawyer thanked the governor for his reaction towards the initiative, adding that Osun has the highest number of data in NELFUND database.
He disclosed that NELFUND is not a profit making agency that is after making money rather they are here to make impact on education in Nigeria.
