The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has strongly opposed its exclusion from the board of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), demanding immediate representation.
In a letter dated February 13, 2025, and addressed to NELFUND’s Managing Director, Akintunde Sawyerr, and Board Chairman, Jim Ovia, NANS President, Lucky Emonefe, condemned the continued absence of student representation, calling it “completely unacceptable.”
The letter, titled ‘Final Demand for Student Representation in the Scheduled NELFUND Board’ and referenced as NANS/VOL1/GA1/A254, was made public in Abuja on Saturday.
Mr. Emonefe insisted that students, as primary stakeholders and direct beneficiaries of the education loan scheme, must be part of the decision-making process. He likened their exclusion to “shaving a man’s head in his absence.”
“We will not stand idly by while crucial decisions affecting our future are made without our input,” he stated.
NANS has demanded the inclusion of a student representative in the upcoming board meeting, warning that failure to meet this demand will result in the complete shutdown of the meeting venue.
“As the apex student body representing over 50 million students nationwide, we are not making a request but a demand. Nigerian students deserve a voice in how this fund is managed,” Emonefe asserted.
He further emphasized that NANS would mobilize en masse to prevent the meeting from taking place unless student representation is assured.
It is worth recalling that President Bola Tinubu signed the Student Loans (Access to Higher Education) (Repeal and Re-enactment) Act, 2024 into law in April 2024. The Act stipulates that the NELFUND board should include representatives from relevant ministries, regulatory agencies, and student bodies, among others.
NAN
