Police in Akwa Ibom have arrested a woman for allegedly faking her kidnapping.
They also arrested 52 suspects for various crimes.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the Commissioner of Police in the state, Waheed Ayilara, told journalists in Uyo on Friday, March 15, that some of the crimes were murder, kidnap, armed robbery, child trafficking, cultism, and fraud.
He said one of the kidnap “victims”, a female from Nung Oku village in Ibesikpo Asutan Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom arranged her kidnap.
She thereafter demanded N4m ransom but was arrested by the police.
“A report was received on Monday from one Enobong Sampson that her sister had been kidnapped and that the kidnappers were demanding N4m as ransom.
“As a result, operatives of the Anti-kidnapping Squad of the Command embarked on an intense and intelligence-driven operation to track down the kidnappers and rescue the victim.
“On Tuesday, however, the purported victim and her boyfriend were arrested at a hideout at Mbierebe Obio, Ibesikpo Asutan Local Government Area.
She confessed to having conspired with her boyfriend and three others to proclaim her kidnap to raise money from her aunty based outside the country,” Ayilara said.
Ayilara added that on Wednesday, police arrested a man at Uruting village in Okobo Local Government Area of the state for killing his 75-year-old father, using a machete.
The suspect claimed that his deceased father had sold all the parcels of land he had, including the one that he gave to him to build his house as the reason for his action, the police commissioner said.
Ayilara also said that on March 8, police arrested one man at Ayam village in Etinan Local Government Area of the state for being involved in the production of adulterated fruit drinks, and fake products.
Also on March 8, police rescued and arrested a man who used Point of Sale machines to defraud innocent citizens and was to be set ablaze but for the arrival of police operatives.
Ayilara said most of the man’s victims had identified him and N350,000 cash was recovered from him at the time of arrest.
The police commissioner pledged that all the suspects would be arraigned as soon as investigations were concluded.
Gunmen have kidnapped the Chairman of Edo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Tony Aziegbemi.
He was said to have been abducted on Friday, March 15.
The police authorities and state government confirmed the kidnap on Saturday, March 16.
Aziegbemi was said to have left a meeting at the Government House and was going home in his vehicle when he was kidnapped in the presence of his driver, who was attempting to climb a speed breaker.
“That is confirmed, it is in the jurisdiction of New Etete Police Division, also known as Godwin Abbe Police Station, that is where it happened,” the state Police Command spokesman, Chidi Nwabuzor was quoted to have said.
“The Commissioner of Police has given marching orders to the tactical teams of the operatives to go after the hoodlums and we pray that by the grace of God all hands are on deck and we will be able to rescue him unhurt,” Nwabuzor said
Also, confirming the incident, the Commissioner for Communication and Orientation, Chris Nehikhare, issued a statement, saying the state government is making frantic efforts to secure the release of the PDP chairman.
He said the government is working closely with security agencies on the issue, describing the kidnap as an unfortunate incident.
“The Government is working closely with security agencies to ensure his safe release and return to his family,” the statement read.
“We have also increased surveillance and beefed-up security measures across the State to ensure that these criminal activities are quelled and culprits are brought to justice.”
The commissioner called on residents of the state to go about their lawful businesses without fear and urged them to call the State emergency numbers 112 or 739 to report all suspicious persons or activities within their environs.
THE traditional monarch of Iba Kingdom, Oba Sulaimon Adeshina Raji, who allegedly ordered a voter to be beaten and stabbed during the 2023 general election, has been named as the new chairman of the Lagos State Branch of the Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN).
The change in leadership occurred following the suspension of the association’s operations by the Lagos state government for almost a year.
The association’s National Executive Council (NEC) was present when Adeshina and his executive team were inaugurated on Thursday, March 14, in Abuja.
This new chapter was made possible by the Federal Government’s intervention in breaking the impasse that stalled the initial inauguration of the association.
Adeshina expressed his happiness and appreciation for the confidence shown by being chosen as chairman in his acceptance speech.
The ICIR reported in June last year that the Lagos State gubernatorial election of Saturday, March 18 2023, ended with a sad tale for a voter *John Kadiri (not his real name), who resided in Lagos.
Kadiri, an indigene of Lagos, told The ICIR that he had never been humiliated as he experienced during the governorship election.
Picture of healing stab injury on Kadiri. The ICIR/16/04/2023
According to him, trouble started a few minutes before midnight on Sunday, April 19, a day after the election.
Kadiri said he opened his door that night because he could recognise the voice at the door.
According to him, the visitors told him the Kabiyesi wanted to see him.
“They insisted I must go with them immediately. I was tying only a white wrapper and holding a torchlight since I had a clear conscience.
Kadiri said that shortly before getting to the palace of the Oniba of Iba-Adesina, he felt a sharp pain in his back; his captors had macheted him.
“When we almost got to Hajji bus stop, suddenly someone struck me with a cutlass on my back. I looked back and shouted, “Why are you stabbing me?’ By this time, my white wrapper was already soaked with blood.
“I thought the Kabiyesi was waiting somewhere, but the team leader instructed one of the boys to blindfold me,” Kadiri stated.
Kadiri told The ICIR that immediately after he arrived at the traditional ruler’s palace in Iba Town, the Kabiyesi said, “It serves you right. A whole me the King of the town, I begged you, I pleaded with you, but you refused and gathered Igbo people to vote against me on election day. You also invited soldiers to chase my boys into the swamp; what if they have died?”
He added that the traditional ruler, surrounded by some of his chiefs and biological father, became furious and shouted at him.
“He ordered his boys to deal with me; cutlasses and sticks were used on me. I was seriously beaten,” he alleged.
“See where they stabbed me. I prostrated and begged. I cried; I asked for my offence. I have never been dealt with like this before without committing any offence. I was not paid. This Sule Maito has never done anything for me, but he was oppressing me,” he cried.
Reacting to the allegation levelled against him in a telephone chat with The ICIR on Thursday, June 8, 2023, Adeshina denied the accusation and claimed that as a responsible king, he is not involved in skirmishes with anyone.
“Who said so? With my calibre, I will go and beat somebody? The King asked.
When told that the victim said he did not participate physically in the incident but sent some boys, the Kabiyesi said, “I don’t understand what that person is saying. There is nothing like that in this Iba Town. The election was in March, and who won has won; that’s the main thing. Who do I want to fight with? We are all one; I am a king; I can not play tribalism. I don’t have a problem with anybody at all.” Read the report here.
A high court in Minna, Niger state, has directed the federal ministry of power to pay N1.1 trillion as compensation to the Samboro community in Madaka district, Rafi LGA over damages caused by the construction of the Zungeru hydro dam.
The village head of Samboro community Usman and 2,844 other members of the community had on April 27, 2023, approached the court through the counsel Muhammed Ndarani Mohammed (SAN) in case number NSHC/ KUT/6/2023 demanding compensation.
In a judgment delivered on Thursday, March 14 Mohammed .A. Mohammed, the presiding judge, held that the construction of the Zungeru dam in Samboro has caused damages to the farmland and other economic trees in the community.
The judge agreed that it was the act of the defendants in the construction of the dam project that led to the continuous flooding and erosion in the community.
He affirmed that the flooding and erosion have led to the destruction of the plaintiffs’ sources of livelihood and ejected them from their ancestral homes.
He noted that the plaintiffs, having suffered from the actions of the defendants, were entitled to monetary compensation.
Consequently, Mohammed issued a perpetual injunction “restraining the defendants, their servants, agents, privies and or assigns whosever and howsoever from trespassing or further acts of trespass or doing any act or actions, conduct of breach prejudicial and or reprehensive to the plaintiffs’ right, interest ownership, possession and occupation on the land situate, being and lying at Samboro community, constituting about 7,868 hectares of land in Rafi local government area of Niger state”.
“An order is hereby given directing the 1st defendant to pay to the plaintiffs, forthwith, the sum of one trillion, one hundred and fifty billion, five hundred and ninety-five million, forty-seven thousand and two hundred and eighty-eight naira (N1,150,595,047,288) as monetary compensation for the destruction of their farmlands, houses, ponds, sabotage to their economic welfare and survival, untold hardship and total annihilation of all their resources of livelihood in Samboro Community in Rafi local government area of Niger state,” he added.
This development is coming weeks after the Federal Government officially transferred operations of the Hydroelectric Power Plant to Penstock Limited, a subsidiary of Mainstream Energy Solutions Limited, which it selected in February 2023.
WHEN Bola Ahmed Tinubu was inaugurated as President on May 29, 2023, he promised to tackle the insecurity that has held the country captive head-on.
Tinubu, while he delivered his inaugural speech amidst cheers from his supporters, stated that security is a great concern to many Nigerians and pledged to prioritise security and effectively tackle the menace of insecurity.
“Security shall be the top priority of our administration because neither prosperity nor justice can prevail amidst insecurity and violence.
“To effectively tackle this menace, we shall reform both our security Doctrine and its Architecture.
“We shall invest more in our security personnel, and this means more than an increase in number. We shall provide better training, equipment, pay and firepower,” he stated.
But despite his many promises, about 703 people were abducted between March 3 and March 10 2024. This is in addition to many other kidnappings and killings under this administration.
703 persons kidnapped in 8 days
On Sunday, March 3, 2024, some women were abducted by terrorists on their way to the bush to get firewood in Borno state.
They were reportedly besieged by gunmen in the Bula Kunte Bush in Ngala Town’s western section, where the bandits freed older people amongst them and abducted some young boys and girls.
Speaking to The ICIR in a telephone chat on Wednesday, March 6, the spokesperson of the Borno police command, Nahum Daso Kenneth, said the incident happened. However, he still needs to get the details of the occurrence.
But according to Amnesty International (AI), more than 400 displaced people in Borno state were abducted.
The organisation said on March 3 2024, suspected Boko Haram fighters abducted at least 400 Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) – most of them women and children – from Babban Sansani, Zulum and Arabic IDP camps in Gamboru Ngala, Borno state.
Also on Thursday, March 7, a school teacher, Sani Abdullahi, said atleast 287 students and a principal, Abubakar Isah, were abducted when bandits invaded the Local Education Authority (LEA) Primary and Junior Secondary School, Kuriga, in Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
Infographics_Abduction_in_one_week
Abdullahi revealed this during the visitation of Governor Uba Sani and some other state government officials to the school hours after the incident, noting that 187 students were abducted from the secondary school section and 125 from the primary school section, totalling 312 students.
The ICIRreported how the assailants invaded the school and reportedly kidnapped over 100 children, alongside some staff of the school.
The Police in Sokoto confirmed to The ICIR on March 10 that bandits abducted 15 students and a woman.
According to the police, the 15 Tsangaya students were taken from the Gidan Bakuso area of Gada Local Government Area in Sokoto State.
Reports indicate that the event happened on the school grounds on Saturday, March 9.
The Sokoto state police command spokesperson, Ahmad Rufai, said 15 students were abducted within the school. At the same time, a woman was kidnapped outside the school.
Expert view
Commenting on the spate of abductions in the country, a security expert, Oladele Fajana, told The ICIR that he is disappointed in the approach of the government and security agencies.
Fajana said it is regrettable that government and security agencies still allow “unfortunate incidents like this (Abductions) to keep happening again and again.”
“We are still making the same mistakes. I don’t believe any school in Kaduna will still be attacked successfully in this time and age.
“Our security forces are reactionary. We don’t have to wait until our schools are attacked before we react,” he stated.
On the way forward, Fajana said the security forces should continue to anticipate attacks.
“We must be alert 24 hours; we must not leave any chance. The government should know that when these kidnappers leave a particular spot, they will go elsewhere.”
He said the government should show more seriousness in tackling the issue of insecurity.
“What do they discuss in their security council meetings?” Fajana asked.
What Tinubu must do to tackle insecurity in 2024
Every part of Nigeria has grappled with insecurity and crime, but the North-East, North-West, North-Central and South-East regions have faced them more than the remaining two South-West and South-South in recent times.
In January 2024, the ICIR looked at what the government can do to tackle insecurity in 2024.
Managing director of Beacon Consulting Limited, Kabir Adamu, in a chat with The ICIR, listed things Tinubu’s administration could do to reduce crime and insecurity in the new year.
According to Adamu, the government should focus on implementing its Renewed Hope Agenda.
He urged Tinubu to expand other policy documents for which the President had signed a performance bond with his minister.
He added that the government must ensure that national security formations are more effective and efficient and avoid using ad-hoc means to address security challenges.
In his opinion, the publicity director of Arewa Youths for Peace and Security, Dantata Mohammed, urged Tinubu to review the country’s security architecture by putting the right persons at the helm of affairs.
He also called for adequate incentives for all the security agencies.
Mohammed urged the top echelon of the security agencies to purge itself of rotten eggs and put in place a monitoring mechanism for checking overbearing behaviours.
Adamu, on his part, listed what security agencies should do differently in 2024 as follows:
Strengthen their monitoring and evaluation departments and ensure their key performance indicators are developed.
Align with the national security agenda and have international mechanisms for standards and measurements.
Strengthen their collaboration, coordination and cooperation and ensure they carry the people along.
He urged the Presidency to ensure that the platforms for performance measurement, intelligence fusion and grievance resolution are functional.
THE International Centre for Investigative Reporting (The ICIR) has concluded a two-day training for selected journalists on the Strengthening Public Accountability for Results and Knowledge Project christened SPARK2.
The training, which had participants drawn from Oyo, Anambra, Niger, Jigawa, Nasarawa, Kano and Ogun states across print, electronic and digital media, was held in Abuja between Wednesday, March 13 and Thursday, March 14.
The project supported by the International Budget Partnership (IBP) aims to examine factors contributing to the appalling state of the healthcare and agricultural sector in Nigeria.
SPARK2 also aimed to address significant challenges and power relations and provide system-level evidence across the two thematic areas on challenges in the delivery of the Basic Health Care Provision Fund -(BHCPF), Maternal Service Scheme-(MSS), and the Agriculture Development Projects across SPARK’s focal states.
It also focuses on systemic, political, and economic issues such as inadequate budgetary support, the influence of party politics in policy, gender disparities as well as cultural and other nuanced influences that impact on outcomes.
It was designed to build the capacity of journalists to hold power bearers, policymakers, and implementers accountable by publishing focused special and investigative reports and documentaries on delivery end at Primary Health Care, Ward Development Committees, across commodity groups within Small Scale Women Farmers Organisation (SWOFON) networks in the focal states to report and investigate the health and agriculture sectors.
participants during an investigative sharing workshop
THE ICIR will also provide financial support for the selected journalists to undertake critical investigative and data-driven reports on the health and agriculture sector in Nigeria.
Some of the participants interviewed by The ICIR, Vincent Yusuf from Daily Trust and Ibukun Emiola from News Agency of Nigeria, in their remarks, lauded the training programme and said it would positively impact their future.
The Executive Director of The ICIR, Dayo Aiyetan, highlighted the importance of the training in his opening remarks and stressed its significance for journalists, urging them to take a proactive approach to the #SPARK2 project while emphasising the importance of not just reporting and writing but also actively tracking its impacts as a follow-up measure.
Executive Director of The ICIR, Dayo Aiyetan
The Country Director of the IBP, Babalola Olayinka, shared her delight in being involved in the #SPARK2 project. She noted that the project is focused on adopting a systematic change approach, with a focus on identifying those directly impacted.
The Country Director, IBP, Babalola Olayinka.
The Programme Coordinator, IBP, Ogechi Gift Okebugwu, from the Smallholder women farmers, also expressed her enthusiasm about the #SPARK2 project. She provided an overview of the project’s goal, which aimed to enhance the quality of life for smallholder women farmers in Nigeria.
The Programme Coordinator SWOFON, Ogechi Gift Okebugwu
The organiser said in the last five years, the Centre had worked to build the journalists’ capacity to undertake investigative, data-driven reporting, strengthening accountability and engendering effective service delivery for citizens, particularly at the sub-regional level.
EMPOWERING human narratives takes centre stage as Kara House, an evolving media outfit led by investigative journalist Damilola Banjo, emerges onto the scene.
With its official launch on February 13, 2024, Kara House aims to extend the reach of compelling investigative stories to wider audiences.
Speaking with The ICIR, Banjo who is the creative lead, with over 10 years of journalism experience, noted that Kara House is focused on bridging the gap of distribution that combines both traditional and digital media to reach diverse audiences and building a sustainable public service journalism outlet that can stand on its outside of grants.
She added that establishing her own media house stemmed from the discovery of audio storytelling.
“When I found audio and started listening about four years ago, it felt like I’d been missing out on this impressive medium all my career life. And it’s so strange because we have lots of radio stations in Nigeria but I was never a fan of the kind of content you find on our radio stations.
“I then began to ask myself, how do you use this medium to solve the inherent problems in Nigeria? I should say that radio already holds lots of power. It has the widest penetration in Nigeria” Banjo stated
Banjo thought of the kind of content that would encourage civic and democratic participation in Nigeria with the power radio wields.
She further stated that Kara House is not just a podcast or a news website but a journalism production outlet while noting that the goal is to improve how readers perceive journalistic articles.
“We are not just another news website and we are not a podcast. We are a journalism production outlet. The website, podcast channels, and radio stations are just paths through which we are distributing our products. We want to change the way journalism pieces are seen. Your investigative story can provide public service but it can also be commercial,” she stated.
“One of the things we do is to creatively package our product in the same way other media content is packaged. We want to keep the attention of people by making the content short. And even though we take on serious issues in our society, we grind them down to tiny bits that it becomes comprehensively for anyone and it is not laborious to follow,” she explained.
NIGERIA’s inflation rate has continued to rise nine month months after President Bola Tinubu assumed office in May 2023 as the latest data showed that the rate stood at 31.70 per cent as of February 2024.
The rate at which the inflation figure picked up over the month has placed pressure on the prices of consumer goods in local markets. The food prices were triggered largely by high energy prices as a result of fuel subsidy removal, devaluation of the currency and other monetary policies implemented by the president.
Recently there have been protests across some parts of the country calling for government intervention in the hardship. In other parts of the country, residents invaded warehouses to cart away food products.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics, the inflation rate rose by 1.80 per cent from 29.90 per cent recorded in January. Also, on a year-on-year basis, the headline inflation rate was 9.79 per cent points higher compared to the rate recorded in February 2023, which was 21.91 per cent.
The report stated that the February inflation rate was driven majorly by Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages and Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas & Other Fuel. Meanwhile, the Rural inflation rate stood at 29.99 per cent compared to the Urban inflation rate which was 33.66 per cent in February.
The data in February 2024, the inflation rate on a Year-on-Year basis was highest in Kogi (37.98 per cent), Oyo (36.60 per cent), Bauchi (35.62 per cent), while Borno (26.28 per cent), Taraba (26.72 per cent) and Benue (27.40 per cent) recorded the slowest rise in Headline inflation
Food Inflation
The Food inflation rate in February 2024 was 37.92 per cent which is 13.57 per cent higher compared to the rate recorded in February 2023 (24.35 per cent).
The rise in Food inflation on a year-on-year basis was caused by increases in prices of Bread and cereals, Potatoes, Yam and other Tubers, Fish, Oil and fat, Meat, Fruit, Coffee, Tea, and Cocoa.
Food inflation was highest in Kogi (46.32 per cent), Rivers (44.34 per cent), and Kwara (43.05 per cent), while Bauchi (31.46 per cent), Plateau (32.56 per cent), and Taraba (33.23 per cent) recorded the slowest rise.
The ICIRreported that as of January 2024, a Nigerian would averagely spend N858 to eat a healthy diet
THE Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has filed charges against former Kogi State governor Yahaya Adoza Bello, alongside his nephew Ali Bello, Dauda Sulaiman and Abdulsalam Hudu, for alleged N84 billion money laundering.
The case was initiated before James Omotosho of the Federal High Court, Maitama, Abuja, on Thursday, March 14, 2024.
The EFCC is prosecuting the trio on an amended 17-count charge of money laundering, breach of trust and misappropriation of funds to the tune of N84,062,406,089.88 (Eighty-four Billion, Sixty-two Million, Four Hundred and Six Thousand, Eighty-nine Naira, Eighty-eight Kobo).
To allow for Yahaya Bello’s inclusion in the trial, Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, informed the court of an application to amend the charges against the defendants, dated February 5, 2024, and filed the same day. He then prayed that the amended charges be read to the defendants so they could take their pleas.
The judge granted the prayer, overruling objections from A.M Aliyu SAN and Olusegun Joolawo SAN, lawyers to Ali Bello and Suleiman, the first and second defendants.
Count one of the charges reads: “That you, Ali Bello, Dauda Suleiman, Yahaya Adoza Bello (still at large) and Abdulsalam Hudu (still at large), sometime in September 2015 in Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, conspired amongst yourselves to convert the total sum of N80,246,470,089.88 (Eighty Billion, Two Hundred and Forty-six Million, Four Hundred and Seventy Thousand, Eighty-nine Naira, Eighty-eight Kobo), which sum you reasonably ought to have known forms part of the proceeds of your unlawful activity to wit: criminal breach of trust and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 18(b) and punishable under Section 15(3) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 as amended.”
According to a statement by the EFCC spokesperson, Dele Oyewale, while ex-Governor Bello and Hudu are still at large, Ali Bello and Suleiman, first and second defendants, respectively, who were present in court, “pleaded not guilty” to all the charges when they were read to them.
In continuation of the trial, EFCC lawyer Oyedepo invited the fourth Prosecution Witness, PW4, Yakubu Gana, counsel to the property owner and seller of a property located in Danube Street, Maitama, Abuja, which Ali Bello and Suleiman allegedly bought at the cost of N950million on behalf of ex-governor Yahaya Bello through their lawyer, Ramalan Jibril Abdullahi.
“We negotiated and agreed on the sum of N950 million. Their lawyer, Ramalan Abdullahi, said his clients would prefer to pay in cash and dollars. I had to call my client to inform him because he was not in the country at that time. My client cautioned me whether I knew the buyers, and I answered that I knew their lawyer way back in secondary school.
“The lawyer and the clients invited me into their office, a bureau de change office at Zone 4, adjacent to Sheraton, now Abuja Continental Hotel. They then showed me dollars in ‘Ghana Must Go,’ but the dollars in ‘Ghana must go’ were not up to that N950million. They said they would make it up by bringing some dollars to make it to N950 million. The transaction took us almost two weeks, and the lawyer invited me to the same BDC office for confirmation. The money was completed in dollar equivalent,” Gana said.
In his testimony as the fifth prosecution witness, Abdullahi told the court that though he acted as a go-between in the purchase of the property, his major assignment was to carry out due diligence on the said property, which paved the way for its purchase by Ali Bello and Suleiman, his clients.
Oyedepo requested the property’s title documents to enable him to tender them in evidence. However, Omotosho ordered him to apply to the defendants formally and thereafter adjourned the matter to March 28, 2024, for the continuation of trial.
PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has written to the Senate, seeking repeal of the Students Loans Act 2023 and re-enactment of the Students Loan Bill 2024.
According to a letter addressed to the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, and dated March 14, Tinubu is seeking ‘expeditious consideration’ of the bill and the repeal of the existing law.
The latest development was at the heel of the public outburst that trailed the announcement of the temporary suspension of the commencement of the student loan system.
On Tuesday, March 12, The ICIR reported that the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFund), Akintunde Sawyer, said he cannot give a date for the rollout of the student education loan scheme, initially expected to be launched this Thursday, March 14.
Sawyer blamed the postponement on undisclosed issues.
However, Tinubu, in his letter to the senate explained that the request for repeal of the Students Loans Act 2023 and a fresh enactment is to address some challenges with the earlier Act and to enhance the implementation of the students loan scheme by his administration.
The letter reads in part: “ Pursuant to Section 58 (2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), I forward, herewith, the Student Loan (Access to Higher Education) (Repeal and Re-enactment) Bill, 2024 for the kind consideration of the Senate.
“The Student Loan (Access to Higher Education) (Repeal and Re-enactment) Bill, 2024 seeks to enhance the implementation of the Higher Education Student Loan Scheme by addressing challenges related to the management structure of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELF), applicant eligibility requirements, loan purpose, funding sources, and disbursement and repayment procedures.
“Whilst hoping that this submission will receive the usual expeditious consideration of the House of Representatives, please accept, Rt. Honourable Speaker, the assurances of my highest consideration.”
It could be recalled that Tinubu had in June 2023, signed the Access to Higher Education Bill (also known as student loan) to enable students in need to access interest-free loans to pursue their education in any tertiary institution in the country.
NELFund was set up to support students in public tertiary institutions from all the states of the Federation who wish to apply for a loan on the scheme. The objective was to cover the total cost of their institutional fees.
However, despite N50 billion budgetary allocations and pledges by the federal government there has been back-and-forth for the rollout of the scheme.
