Disquiet in South-East

From Magnus Eze, Enugu

Tongues have not stopped wagging since last week when the Federal Government through the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) disbursed N29.95billion as loans to 27,667 students in 19 tertiary institutions.

But none of these institutions is located in the South East, while at least one institution from each of the other five geopolitical zones was included. Stakeholders including the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), the Concerned Igbo Stakeholders Forum (CISF), Coalition of South East Youth Leaders (COSEYL), condemned the skewed disbursement.

They alleged outright neglect and exclusion of their region saying that it was part of the orchestrated marginalisation of the Igbo by the Nigerian Government which according to them, has been elevated to an all-time high by the administration of President Bola Tinubu.

However, NELFUND spokesperson, Nasir Ayitogo, said: “There is no consideration of geopolitical zones in the disbursement.” He claimed institutions in the South East were not able to conclude the verification of their students on time: “NELFUND sent a verification list to every institution eligible for disbursement. Payments are being made to institutions that have responded to this verification.”

The fund urged institutions in the zone to complete the verification process so their students could also benefit from the loan scheme. Investigations showed that some of the institutions in South West were yet to conclude the verification process.

Public Relations Officer, Enugu State University of Technology (ESUT), Ikechukwu Ezeanioma, confirmed that the institution merely uploaded the verified data of its students last Friday: “The students’ verification was concluded about three or four weeks ago. But we experienced some technical problems while trying to upload. However, happy to report that our ICT Department has successfully uploaded it last night.”

His counterpart at the Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University (COOU), Anambra State, Dr Harrison Madubueze, said the institution had completed all the registration/verification processes for the NELFUND application as at August 10, 2024.

A staff of Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO), absolved NELFUND of the blame.  She rather blamed most of the students for not completing their verification.

At the Imo State University, Owerri, Public Relations Officer, Ralph Njoku, said the Registry was still handling the verification process. Special Adviser on Information and Public Relations to Vice Chancellor, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State, Dr Emmanuel Ojukwu, said he needed time to confirm the status of the institution in the NELFUND application process.

A former students’ leader, Igwe Ude-Umanta, said three crucial things were involved: “One, is it true that the institutions in the South East didn’t push for verification of applications? If that is true, there should be consequences.

“Was there adequate information about the NELFUND in the South East? Is there a coincidence in excluding the South East from the management of the fund and the eventual exclusion of the zone from the benefits?”

Notwithstanding, the Concerned Igbo Stakeholders Forum (CISF), said the non-inclusion of any higher institution in the region as a beneficiary in the NELFUND was a joke taken too far. The 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 South East to have about their place in the scheme of things?”

CISF Leader, Chukwuma Ephraim Okenwa, noted with curiosity why, by chance, the South East that had long complained of marginalisation was the only region “unintentionally” excluded from the 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 FG’s commitment to the federal character principle.”

The group called on President Tinubu to recall the list, as a matter of urgency, order the inclusion of three to four institutions from the South East: “It should be noted that Igbo are equal stakeholders in the Nigeria project and must be respected as such.”

Coordinator, NANS South East, Zone F, Nzekwe Chidi, said it was a worrisome development because he was told that to benefit, all an institution needed to do was send its students data to some emails provided by the NELFUND: “Are they trying to tell us that no single person applied for the student loan in the South East

“Let’s look at Abia State, a lot of schools in that state are on the NELFUND website. Are they trying to tell us that no students from the entire state applied for that loan? And the same thing applies to other schools in the zone.

“There is marginalisation somewhere, I must say it. And I condemn such act because it is very unfair. I don’t know what they want to make out of it. We have about 46 institutions in South East that NANS accredited and not even a single person is from those institutions. It’s unbelievable.”

The students’ leader also alleged that his enquiries from the institutions listed in the zone, revealed that their Deans of Students Affairs also complained that the NELFUND did not carry them along: “South East was outright denied the loan this time and I feel it was a deliberate act.”

President General, of COSEYL, Goodluck Ibem, said the excuse by the NELFUND was feeble: “If there are processes that needed to be followed, the NELFUND should have waited until when the entire institutions are done before the funds will be released to the schools. Something should be done urgently to disburse the funds of South East institutions to them.”

Consequently, the South East caucus of the National Assembly, urged tertiary institutions in the zone to comply with the verification request by NELFUND, “so that our children can benefit from this national programme.

“We also wish to encourage all South East students who need this support to ensure they apply. This is important as it can help ameliorate some of the challenges limiting access to higher education, which we must all agree is critical to self-development and growth.”

Enyinnaya Abaribe, Leader, South East Senate Caucus and his House of Representatives counterpart, Igariwey Iduma Enwo, in a statement said as a people, the zone should not intentionally marginalise itself from opportunities open to all Nigerians: “Those opportunities are our rights and we must, like others, demand for what rightfully belongs to us.”

Senior Special Assistant to the President on Community Engagement (South East), Mrs Chioma Nweze, said the situation called for urgent action on the part of the tertiary institutions in the South East to enable them access NELFUND: “We cannot afford to let this chance slip away. We must act now to ensure that our students do not miss out on this opportunity. We owe it to ourselves, our students, and our region to take the lead and secure this funding.”