The biggest challenge for many Nigerian Students after gaining admission is no longer passing exams, it is surviving school financially.
From unpaid fees to transport costs, accommodation struggles and daily feeding, staying in school has become increasingly difficult for many young Nigerians. It is this reality that shaped conversations at an emergency congress of the Student Wing of the Northern Youth Frontiers (NYF), where student leaders said the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) is helping many indigent students remain in school.
The student wing, made up of student union leaders, campus delegates and youth stakeholders from the 19 Northern states and the Federal Capital Territory, passed a vote of confidence on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the management of NELFUND over what it described as the scheme’s transformative impact on struggling students.
The endorsement formed part of a communiqué issued after an emergency joint congress held in Abuja on Sunday, May 17, 2026, where participants reviewed issues affecting northern students, assessed the implementation of NELFUND and discussed security challenges affecting campuses.
The communiqué was jointly signed by National Coordinator Ibrahim Bello and Secretary-General Hauwa Abdulaziz.
According to the congress, the Students Loans (Access to Higher Education) Act introduced under Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda has widened access to higher education by removing financial barriers that previously stopped many students from continuing their education.
The group described NELFUND as a transparent and life-changing intervention that has restored hope to thousands of indigent students across Northern Nigeria and beyond.
“We declare that NELFUND has broken long-standing bureaucratic barriers to become a transparent, life-saving reality, ensuring that financial lack is no longer a death sentence for academic dreams in the North and Nigeria at large,” part of the communiqué read.
The congress added that the scheme had provided emotional and financial relief to many families by helping students remain in school instead of abandoning academic ambitions because of poverty.
“Most significantly, the Congress highlights the profound, life-changing impact this scheme has had on thousands of indigent students across the North. By stepping in where poverty would have forced brilliant minds out of school, NELFUND has restored dignity to the less privileged and brought immense psychological and financial relief to countless struggling families who previously had no hope of funding higher education,” the communiqué stated.
The students also applauded the reported registration and application of over 1.3 million Nigerian students on the NELFUND portal, describing it as evidence of growing confidence in the system.
According to the communiqué, over ₦161.97 billion has reportedly been disbursed in 2026, including ₦89.94 billion paid directly to public tertiary institutions for institutional charges and ₦72.03 billion sent into students’ bank accounts as monthly upkeep stipends.
The congress praised the process as merit-based and fully digitalised, saying it cuts across religion, tribe and geographical zones without political interference.
It also passed what it described as a “resounding vote of confidence” on President Tinubu and the NELFUND management led by Akintunde Sawyerr.
Still, while applauding the education loan scheme, the students raised concerns over insecurity around campuses in Northern Nigeria.
The group appealed to Tinubu to strengthen the security in tertiary institutions vulnerable to attacks by bandits and kidnappers, while calling for stronger funding of the Safe Schools Initiative and tighter security around campuses, student residential areas and major routes used by students.
Credit: Charity Nwakaudu (The Sun)
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