Students loan application portal opens May 24 – NELFUND

By Funmilayo Adeyemi

The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), has announced May 24 as official date for the opening of portal for student loan applications.

The Managing Director of NELFUND, Mr Akintunde Sawyerr, disclosed this on Thursday in a statement made available to newsmen in Abuja by the Fund’s Media and Public Relations Lead, Nasir Ayitogo.

Sawyerr said the opening of the portal marked a significant milestone in the commitment of President Bola Tinubu to foster accessible and inclusive education for all Nigerian students.

According to him, through the portal, students could now access loans to pursue their academic aspirations without financial constraints.

He added that the portal provides a user-friendly interface for students to submit their loan applications conveniently.

“We encourage all eligible students to take advantage of this opportunity to invest in their future and contribute to the growth and development of our nation,” he said.

Sawyerr urged students to access the portal on www.nelf.gov.ng to begin application.

Students loan application portal opens May 24 – NELFUND

UniAbuja Strike: CONUA dissociates self, says action baseless

The Congress of University Academics (CONUA), University of Abuja Chapter has dissociated itself from the ongoing strike by the university branch of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).

The Chairman, CONUA, University of Abuja Chapter, Prof. Abdul Buba, said this when the group paid a courtesy visit to the Vice Chancellor of the University, Prof. Abdul-Rasheed Na’Allah in Abuja on Friday.

Buba said the University system could not be grounded because it had no Governing Council, a decision that informed the industrial actions.

“We believe in stable academic calendar and that’s why we believe that there are other ways of handling labour issues rather than strike actions.

“CONUA addresses issues and not personalities. We also respect opinions of our members and not a predetermined objective of the leadership.

”We address issues without sentiments and meet with the right stakeholders in the pursue of our objectives.

“We are conscious of the negative effects of strikes, and we believe in deploying relevant strategies that will yield positive results in modern age of innovation,” he said.

He added that CONUA would continue to engage relevant stakeholders to pursue legitimate welfare for its members without dabbling with issues not of the concern to its members.

“The ongoing strike in place in the university, CONUA is not part of it because we believe in academic and service delivery.
“All these five points for the strike are baseless.

“Let me start with the issue of advertorial for the position of vice chancellor, initially if it were that the council is in place everything about employment both the employees and the principal officers start and end with the university governing council.

“But in the absence of the university governing council, the law has no provision for the vice chancellor to appoint any successor so it is the responsibility of the government to do that. So, there is no way the VC can be accused.

“This is because even the advertorial, if you watch and other advertorial that were placed by other universities, it was mentioning the ministry representing the government so this is baseless,” he said.

Also, the CONUA Secretary, Prof. Issa Abdulraheem, urged the union to focus on the welfare of its members which was the sole role of establishing a union.

“The union is established to cater for the welfare of its members, all the issues raised by the other union are baseless and have nothing to do with the staff welfare.

“And so we believe that we have ways of handling issues with stakeholders without sentiments of personalising issues. All the points raised by the other unions are not in the interest of its members,”he said.

On his part, the Vice Chancellor of the university, Prof. Abdul-Rasheed Na’Allah, appreciated CONUA for its stance in not joining the strike, hoping that academic programme by ASUU would commence soon.

The reports gathered that the University of Abuja ASUU branch had embarked on a total and indefinite strike on May 2 over alleged university’s refusal to conduct elections for the office of the Dean’s of faculties and Provost College of Health Sciences.

The Union also accused the university of carrying out promotion of some staffers without following due process.

Other reasons for the strike, according to the Union include, “Advertorial of the vacancy of the post of the Vice Chancellor without following due process, among others.

UniAbuja Strike: CONUA dissociates self, says action baseless

Abuja American school has refunded $760k of Yahaya Bello’s children fees – EFCC

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) says the American International School Abuja (AISA) has refunded the fees paid by the immediate past governor of Kogi state, Yahaya Bello, for his children attending the school.

LIB had earlier reported that the chairman of EFCC, Ola Olukoyede, held a press briefing in Abuja on Tuesday, April 23 where he revealed that the former governor paid $760,910 in advance as fees for five of his children from the coffers of the Kogi state government. Following the revelation, the school released a statement promising to refund the fees to the EFCC.

In response to a letter addressed to the Lagos zonal commander of the EFCC, the school said $845,852 was paid in tuition “since the 7th of September 2021 to date”.

AISA said the sum to be refunded is $760,910 because it had deducted educational services already rendered.

“Please forward to us an official written request, with the authentic banking details of the EFCC, for the refund of the above-mentioned funds as previously indicated as part of your investigation into the alleged money laundering activities by the Bello family.

Since the 7th September 2021 to date, $845,852.84 (Eight Hundred and Forty-Five Thousand, Eight Hundred and Fifty Two US Dollars and eighty four cents) in tuition and other fees has been deposited into our Bank account.

We have calculated the net amount to be transferred and refunded to the State, after deducting the educational services rendered as $760,910.84. (Seven Hundred and Sixty Thousand, Nine Hundred and Ten US Dollars and Eighty Four cents).

No further additional fees are expected in respect of tuition as the students’ fees have now been settled until they graduate from ASIA.”

In a chat with The Cable, the spokesperson of the EFCC, Dele Oyewale, confirmed that the school has refunded the money.

‘’The money has been paid into public account,” Dele Oyewale was quoted as saying.

Abuja American school has refunded $760k of Yahaya Bello’s children fees – EFCC