Ben Ezechime, Enugu
The Concerned Igbo Stakeholders Forum (CISF), a Non Governmental Organisation (NGO), has called for the reversal of non-inclusion of South-East tertiary institutions in Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) beneficiaries.
The Leader of the Forum, Chief Chukwuma Okenwa, made the call in a statement on Saturday in Enugu while reacting to exclusion of tertiary institutions in the South-East from the published beneficiaries of the Fund in its website.
According to Okenwa, President Bola Tinubu-led administration’s non-inclusion of any higher institution in the South-East as a beneficiary in the NELFUND Student loan “is a joke taken too far.”
He 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.
He said, “This is not how to manage a diverse and multicultural society like Nigeria.
“What impression does Mr President want Nigerian students schooling in the South-East to have about their place in the scheme of things?
Okenwa also responded to the claims by the NELFUND Spokesperson, Nasir Ayitogo, who said that “there is no consideration of geopolitical zones in the disbursement.”
He said, “The CISF notes with curiosity why, by chance, the South-East 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 South-East is also unfounded.
“Provided that at least one institution in the South-East had complied before the recent release of the list by beneficiaries, it is enough to co-opt the institution in the first batch to demonstrate Federal Government’s commitment to the Federal Character principle.”
The forum leader hereby calls on President Tinubu to recall the current list and, as a matter of urgency, order the inclusion of three to four institutions from the South-East.
“It should be noted that Igbos (South-East) are equal stakeholders in the Nigerian project and must be respected as such,” he added.
