The announcements on Thursdays by the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) on the delay in disbursing August stipends to beneficiaries of the student loan program is attributed to continuous payment processing.
Oseyemi Oluwatuyi, Director of Corporate Communications at NELFUND, said in a statement that security checks being done cause the delay.“To protect public funds and ensure that they are properly allocated to the right beneficiaries.”
“While we acknowledge that this process may cause some inconvenience, it is an essential part of our commitment to maintaining transparency, accountability, and to continue to uphold the integrity of the student loan programme,” Ms Oluwatuyi said.
Since the Fund was completing the distributions “as soon as possible,” she sought the patience and understanding of the impacted beneficiaries.
The comment further highlighted, “We appreciate the feedback from students and are pleased to see the level of engagement and attentiveness in monitoring the progress of the upkeep disbursements.
“This level of involvement reinforces the significance of the student loan programme, and we remain dedicated to supporting your educational pursuits, just as we have with previous disbursements.”
Following the choice of winners two months ago, NELFUND started paying a monthly stipend of N20,000 to scheme participants.
The Fund pays school expenses straight to universities through the student loan program and gives the students a monthly stipend as well. If they so want, beneficiaries can ask for loans just for tuition costs. But students have not yet gotten their August stipends as of ten days into September.
Citing financial difficulties in view of the rising cost of living, the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has also urged the monthly stipend to be raised from N20,000 to N40,000.
