News
Why South East was excluded from disbursed N2.9billion Students Loan
The controversy over the disbursement of initial N2.9 billion federal government’s Students Loan without inclusion of universities from South East has refused to abate as stakeholders are still asking questions on the issue
However, the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) on Friday attempted to give what seems to be an explanation, saying the exclusion was the fault of the authorities of tertiary institutions from the zone.
The body added that the process is based on eligibility and not influenced by geopolitical factors.
Recall that an X user, Santiago Leo, known as #Donaldsplendo, had pointed out that none of the institutions from Nigeria’s South-East region were among the 19 listed beneficiaries of the loan disbursements.
NELFUND, the Federal Government’s body responsible for handling loan requests, grants, disbursements, and recoveries, had recently announced that a total of N2.9 billion in student loans had been disbursed to 27,667 students across 19 institutions nationwide.
In his tweet, #Donaldsplendo expressed disappointment, suggesting that students from institutions in the South-East, such as UNIZIK, FUTO, MOUAU, and the University of Nigeria (UNN), were overlooked, despite likely having applied for the loans.
Responding to these claims, NELFUND explained that the absence of South-Eastern institutions in the beneficiary list was not due to any form of neglect.
“Thank you for your concern. It is important to clarify that geopolitical zones are not a factor in the disbursement process,” the Fund tweeted.
They further explained that payments were made only to institutions that had responded to a verification list sent out earlier.
“NELFUND sent a verification list to every institution eligible for disbursement. Payments are being made to institutions that have responded to this verification,” they noted.
The Fund urged institutions in the South-East to complete the verification process so their students could also benefit from the loan scheme, stressing that the delay in disbursement to these schools was due to the lack of response from the institutions themselves.
The legal team of suspended Kogi Central Senator, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, say they are ready with factil evidence to defend her in court.
The team received a formal summons in the case filed against her by the Federal Government at the Federal Capital Territory High Court last week.
On Friday, May 16, 2025, the Federal Government filed the suit, marked CR/297/25, over alleged defamatory remarks made during a live appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today on April 3, 2025.
The government accused the senator of “making imputation knowing or having reason to believe that such imputation will harm the reputation of a person”, citing Section 391 of the Penal Code, cap 89, Laws of the Federation, 1990.
Among the witnesses listed to testify during the trial were Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, and a former governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello.
Others include Asuquo Ekpenyong, a senator; Sandra Duru; Maya Iliya, investigating police officers; and Abdulhafiz Garba, investigating police officers.
However, in a statement issued Friday night by Dr. Ehiogie West-Idahosa (SAN) on behalf of the legal team, Akpoti-Uduaghan’s lawyers confirmed receipt of the formal summons and pledged to prepare all “factual and statutory defences” available to the lawmaker during trial.
“At about 2:30pm on Friday, May 23, 2025, within the premises of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Abuja, we received the information filed by the Director of Public Prosecutions, containing three counts alleging that our client, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan of Kogi Central, made imputations she had reason to believe would harm the reputation of Senator Godswill Akpabio, President of the 10th Senate,” the statement read.
“We received the said information on her behalf through a letter of authority duly issued and filed in the court’s registry.
“The legal team will fully prepare and present all factual and statutory defences available to our client during the trial.”
The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) will on Tuesday next week begin the take over of 4,794 properties in Abuja, including the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) headquarters, due to unpaid ground rent.
The PDP headquarters, currently under construction in Abuja’s Central Business District, is among the affected properties, having been revoked in March for several years of unpaid ground rent. The FCTA disclosed that 4,794 titles had been revoked for failure to pay ground rent, with some defaults dating back 43 years.
The affected properties are located in various districts, including Central Area, Garki I and II, Wuse I and II, Asokoro, Maitama, and Guzape.
The defaulters owe over N6.96 billion in ground rent. The FCTA had given a 21-day grace period for owners with debts under 10 years, which has now expired.
The FCTA officials announced that the takeover would begin on Monday, May 26, 2025, with the sealing off and restriction of access to the affected properties.
The Director of Land Administration, Chijioke Nwankwoeze emphasized that the revocations were carried out under Section 28(5)(a)(b) of the Land Use Act, which empowers the government to reclaim land when the terms of occupancy are violated.
Two people sustained serious injuries when a training aircraft crash-landed at the Ilorin International Airport on Friday.
Director of Public Affairs and Family Assistance, NSIB, Mrs Bimbo Oladeji, who disclosed this in a statement, said the incident occurred at 17:28 local time on May 23, 2025, during a simulated instrument approach on Runway 05 at Ilorin International Airport.
Oladeji said the aircraft veered off the runway and came to a stop on the grass verge, leaving the two occupants on board injured.
She stated: “Both sustained serious injuries and were swiftly evacuated to a medical facility, coordinated by the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, NAMA.
“In response, the NSIB Go-Team is currently preparing to depart from Abuja to Ilorin to conduct on-site investigations. The team will secure the site, collect physical evidence, interview witnesses, and retrieve operational data to establish the cause and contributing factors of the incident.”
Quoting the Director General of the NSIB, Captain Alex Badeh Jr., she said “Our thoughts are with the injured, and we commend the swift medical and emergency response. Now, our focus is on understanding exactly what went wrong. Every investigation is an opportunity to improve safety. We are deploying our team to Ilorin to ensure that no detail is overlooked.”
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