The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has stepped up its nationwide drive to expand access to its student loan scheme, taking its sensitisation campaign directly to 34 Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), military formations, police and immigration barracks across Nigeria.
The ambitious outreach initiative, tagged *Roadshow*, is designed to ensure that more Nigerians, particularly civil servants, parents and guardians, are adequately informed about the Federal Government's student financing programme and how their children and dependants can benefit.
The Director of SERVICOM at NELFUND, Olusola Fowobaje, disclosed this during a sensitisation engagement with staff of the Federal Ministry of Regional Development in Abuja.
Fowobaje explained that the campaign would cover 34 ministries before extending to military, police and immigration barracks nationwide, noting that the exercise was part of management's determination to take the Fund's services closer to Nigerians.
He described the roadshow as a door-to-door awareness campaign aimed at breaking information barriers, correcting misconceptions and encouraging more eligible students to access the educational financing opportunities provided by NELFUND.
Highlighting the benefits of the scheme, he explained that the student loan programme covers approved institutional fees and provides eligible beneficiaries with a monthly upkeep allowance of ₦20,000 to support their living expenses while studying.
He further disclosed that NELFUND personnel had been deployed to different locations to educate Nigerians about the programme, assuring that the sensitisation campaign would extend beyond Abuja to other parts of the country.
Addressing concerns surrounding the scheme, Fowobaje dismissed misconceptions that beneficiaries could be arrested or prevented from travelling because they accessed the student loan.
He also emphasised that the application process was technology-driven, transparent and accessible, stressing that applicants did not require personal connections or influential contacts to benefit.
According to him, the initiative is particularly important in addressing financial difficulties that force students to abandon their academic pursuits, while promoting equitable access to higher education and strengthening Nigeria's human capital development.
The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Regional Development, Mary Ada Ogbe, welcomed the engagement, explaining that it was organised to equip directors and heads of units with comprehensive information about the scheme.
Ogbe said the sensitisation exercise would subsequently be extended to other ministry employees, urging participants to take advantage of the opportunity to seek clarification and become ambassadors of the initiative by sharing the information with colleagues and family members.
She reaffirmed the ministry's readiness to collaborate with NELFUND in expanding awareness and participation in the programme.
The nationwide outreach further demonstrates NELFUND's determination to ensure that more Nigerian families understand and take advantage of the student loan initiative, reinforcing the Federal Government's commitment to making financial limitations less of a barrier to acquiring higher education.
