The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has reassured Nigerians that the ongoing strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) will not affect its operations or the ongoing student loan process.
Speaking during an interview on Channels Television’s breakfast programme, The Morning Brief, on Tuesday, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of NELFUND, Akintunde Sawyerr, said the institution remains confident that the current negotiations between the Federal Government and ASUU, led by the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, will produce fair and positive outcomes.
“As you are aware, the strike has only just commenced, and I know that under the excellent leadership of the Honourable Minister for Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, the negotiations will continue to move forward,” Sawyerr said.
Over the weekend, NELFUND approved the final reopening of its student loan application platform. This decision aims to allow tertiary institutions that have not yet completed their student verification exercises to do so.
According to a statement made available to newsmen in Abuja on Friday by the Director of Strategic Communications of the Fund, Oseyemi Oluwatuyi, the loan portal would be open from 12:00 a.m. on Sunday, October 12, to 12:00 a.m. on Tuesday, October 14.
Oluwatuyi explained that the extension was to ensure that all eligible students were captured and verified by their institutions as part of the ongoing 2024/2025 NELFUND student loan application process.
Sawyerr stated that NELFUND remains confident that the Ministry of Education’s plans will be fair and equitable. He also emphasized that the agency’s operations would not be affected by the industrial action.
“The ministry’s plans will seek to be fair and equitable and will derive the right results,” he said. “This development will not impact our operations because what the Federal Government has done with NELFUND is to put a scheme in place that addresses, in many ways, some of the issues in education.”
Sawyerr added that the fund’s operations are designed to continue regardless of temporary disruptions. “I don’t think this should be jeopardised at all,” he noted. “Even though the funding that NELFUND is providing is for students, the rest of the ‘pie,’ if you like, is also being addressed by the excellent leadership of Dr. Tunji Alausa. So I would not want to preempt those discussions, those negotiations, those positions.”
He stressed that NELFUND does not want students to suffer as a result of the strike and that the agency is carefully monitoring the situation before making further statements.
“The reality of it is that we don’t want to see students affected negatively in any way,” Sawyerr said. “Having said that, we need to be very close to the discussions and look closely at how this unfolds for us to begin to make pronouncements as to what will be affected by NELFUND.”
Sawyerr also explained that the fund is taking direction from the Ministry of Education as negotiations continue. “We are seeking guidance from the Honourable Minister, who is our leader in this regard, and I will take guidance from him as to the way this should move forward,” he said. “As of today, it will not affect upkeep, but the negotiations are ongoing, and we must be responsive to that.”
He reaffirmed that NELFUND’s focus is to complement other government efforts to ensure that education remains functional and effective in Nigeria. “I don’t want to make any pronouncements till I hear from the Honourable Minister, who will provide guidance because this is all part of the package to ensure education must work in Nigeria,” he concluded.
Meanwhile, the Academic Staff Union of Universities has dismissed the Federal Government’s ‘No Work, No Pay’ directive, insisting that it will not be intimidated by threats.
ASUU President, Chris Piwuna, stated this on Monday while appearing as a guest on Channels Television’s Politics Today. He said the union remains united and committed to its demands, despite government pressure.
“We don’t respond to threats, and nobody can threaten us,” Piwuna said. He added that all academic bodies, including the National Association of Medical and Dental Academics (NAMDA) and the Congress of Nigerian University Academics (CONUA), are in full support of the ongoing strike.
Nigeriastartupact.ng previously reported that on Monday, the Federal Government issued a directive to universities to enforce the ‘No Work, No Pay’ policy on lecturers participating in the strike. The directive was contained in a circular dated October 13 and signed by the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa.
The circular expressed the government’s dissatisfaction with ASUU’s decision to embark on a nationwide strike despite ongoing discussions and appeals for dialogue.
“In line with extant provisions of labour laws, the Federal Government reiterates its position on the enforcement of the ‘No Work, No Pay’ policy in respect of any employee who fails to discharge his or her official duties during the period of strike action,” the letter partly read.