Open letter to Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) – Hassan Sunusi Kani

By, Sen. Hassan Sunusi Kani

With all due respect and being optimistic, on behalf of my fellow students of Aliko Dangote University of Science and Technology, Wudil, Kano. I would like to send our sincere words of appreciation to the board of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) for their tireless effort bestowed upon the entire Nigerian university student applicants with the institutional fee and, above all, the monthly upkeep, which a student will use within the month to get access to reading and writing materials and many more.

Indeed, we, the students, really appreciate it more than words can describe.

With this, there are many important issues along with a vital request that I would like to make on behalf of our students and, in some cases, on behalf of Nigerian university students at large.

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These vital issues are so much affecting our students in one way or the other, especially due to the current economic situation of our country. Which I am one hundred percent sure is one of the reasons behind creating this prestigious board, to make sure Nigerian university students have access to university education and many more, just like the others, in order to have great, sound, and qualitative youths that will shape the future of our motherland, Nigeria.

Some of these issues or problems are the issue of students that are verified via the NELFUND portal but, unfortunately, not on the shortlisted list sent to the university management. As in our case, the number of students that are shortlisted is 6,656 students, in which there are thousands of students that are verified via the NELFUND portal but not on the list, and there is no feedback as to why.

Since these students are verified, it probably means the funds are supposed to be allocated as part of the institutional fee, but unfortunately, it’s not part of it.

As those students really rely on the NELFUND since they are verified, and we all know what it takes to rely and believe in something that you are one hundred percent assured will happen, and it fails to happen.

And those students are in some situations that led to some of them yet to pay their registration fee due to the session having already begun, and combining studies with a side hustle as a student is something very challenging.

Similarly, part of the problem our students are facing is the issue of not receiving the monthly upkeep or some received it but not exactly as it is supposed to be. Meaning, among the shortlisted students, some of them are yet to receive their first month’s upkeep, talkless the next month’s upkeep.

In which some of the students still did not receive upkeep. The scenario that came to my notice is a student who received ₦10,000 in the first month, while as of the second month, received ₦1,000 only, yes, one thousand Naira only. In which each and every student is to receive exactly ₦20,000 per month as stated while applying for the loan.

With this, regarding this issue, it might be due to a system glitch that will lead to this problem, so it will be a good idea to review the system and sort out the problem.

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Moreover, as stated by the NELFUND, whoever is having any problem with the NELFUND site, that student should kindly raise a ticket containing the problem he or she is facing. With this, a huge number of our students did so, but they are yet to be resolved.

Some of their issues are having the wrong account details while making the application, such as the wrong account number, BVN, bank name, etc. Even though we all know how the board is working tirelessly towards improving the system, there is a need to provide a timely and speedy service response that will make sure those students are attended to in due time, as those students are facing a lot of challenges, academically and beyond, all due to the hardship of the economy.

Still, there are some students who transfer from one department to the other, and they are verified but not shortlisted; these students also need speedy attention and many more. Also, some of them are yet to do their respective university registrations.

Above all, I would like to suggest to the board one important challenge. Even though, in some places, the board has stated that, if I could remember, the board might not provide monthly upkeep due to some certain reasons in a particular or following month, let the board provide timely information or a reminder if that monthly upkeep will not be paid or will be paid for so-so month, this will reduce high expectations by the students.

As in this case for my university, we started receiving the monthly upkeep in April 2025, but we were not able to receive it until June 2025, in which time, throughout May, our students had a very high expectation of receiving it and finally failed to receive it.

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Which, having the expectations, might even lead one to borrow money, thinking to pay it back at the end of the month, having in mind the student will receive the monthly upkeep. With this, I would like to call the attention of the NELFUND to at least make it a habit to pay the monthly upkeep at a particular fixed date, say, every 25th or 26th of every month. This will really help a lot.

Finally, I do hope our request and suggestions will be looked into with high consideration, as it will really help out not only our students but rather the entire Nigerian university students. With this, I would like to sincerely appreciate your endless efforts towards putting a smile on the faces of Nigerian students and wish more efforts will be put forth and bestowed upon us. God bless NELFUND, God bless our universities, God bless each and every Nigerian student and staff member, and God bless Nigeria at large, Amin.

Yours in struggle,

Sen. Hassan Sunusi Kani (Sen. Kani),

09060442430,

hskgwale@gmail.com,

#We_Can_Do_Better!