The Managing Director/Chief Executive of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), Mr. Akintunde Sawyerr, has met with the Governor of Benue State, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Iormem Alia, at the REA state-by-state roundtable engagement for Benue State on Thursday 29th January, 2026 to deliberate on expanding access to the Federal Government’s student loan scheme for eligible students from the state.
The engagement, convened by the Managing Director/CE of REA, Mr. Abba Abubakar Aliyu, focused on accelerating private sector investment and strengthening the renewable energy ecosystem in Benue State. Discussions at the roundtable underscored the importance of inter-agency collaboration in driving sustainable development, energy access, and inclusive growth.
Mr. Sawyerr noted that the meeting with the Governor focused on strengthening collaboration between the Benue State government and NELFUND to ensure that students in tertiary institutions across the state fully benefit from the interest-free education loan initiative introduced by the Federal Government.
He reaffirmed NELFUND’s commitment to removing financial barriers to higher education, stressing that the student loan programme was designed to promote equity, inclusion and human capital development nationwide. He noted that partnerships with state governments remain critical to effective sensitisation, verification and uptake of the scheme.
According to him, many eligible students are yet to take advantage of the loan due to limited awareness, adding that sub-national governments have a key role to play in driving grassroots mobilisation and institutional cooperation.
The Benue State Governor welcomed the initiative and expressed the state’s readiness to collaborate with NELFUND to ensure that students from the state are adequately informed and supported in accessing the loan. He described education as a cornerstone of sustainable development and pledged the state’s commitment to policies that ease the financial burden on parents and students.
The engagement forms part of NELFUND’s ongoing nationwide stakeholder consultations aimed at deepening awareness and improving implementation of the student loan scheme across states and tertiary institutions.
NELFUND has continued to intensify sensitisation efforts across the country, as applications for the student loan scheme gain momentum among students in Universities, Polytechnics and Colleges of Education.