The Ooni of Ife, Adeyeye Ogunwusi, has urged students to take advantage of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) to ease the financial burden of higher education.

The traditional ruler made the call while receiving the Executive Director of Finance and Administration of NELFUND, Femi Akinfala, at his palace in Ile-Ife, according to a statement issued on Monday.

He expressed concern that many eligible students in Osun State were yet to apply despite the opportunity available.

“Over 60,000 students in Osun have not applied out of over 125,000 on the portal. This should not be so,” he said.

He urged students not to burden their parents when such support exists, while commending the federal government for the initiative, describing it as a major step toward expanding access to education.

Earlier, Mr Akinfala said Osun is one of the leading beneficiaries of the scheme, noting that Governor Ademola Adeleke has fully embraced the initiative.

He disclosed that over 125,000 undergraduate students in Osun are on the NELFUND portal, while about 57,000 have successfully applied for the loan, with over N11 billion already disbursed.

He added that the scheme, introduced by President Bola Tinubu, was designed to ensure that no student is denied access to education due to financial constraints.

Mr Akinfala also sought the Ooni’s support in expanding awareness of the programme across the South-West.

The Lowa Adimula of Ile-Ife, Oba Adekola Adeyeye, also encouraged parents to guide their children to take advantage of the scheme and called for stronger media awareness. 

(NAN)