A member of the House of Representatives, Terseer Ugbor, has called for openness and transparency in the management and disbursement of loans to students of tertiary institutions in the country.
The former Chairman of the Adhoc Committee on Students Loans urged that the Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) to be wary of politicising the management of the fund, including the selection of vendors and recruitment of staff.
Speaking to reporters during a visit to his constituency office in Benue State, he lamented that up until that moment, he was unable to tell how many students of Benue origin have received the loans.
This, he said, was because there are no public records of actual number of loans disbursed, amount of money spent, duration of these loans, repayment plans, number of participating institutions and the insurance policy covering these loans.
The lawmaker, who represents Kwande/Ushongo Federal Constituency, queried how loans are disbursed without a credit life insurance and health insurance for the students and wondered how the funds will be recovered in case of death, disability or default.
He called for more transparency in the management of the students’ loans as one of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s legacy initiatives.
