Tinubu disburses N32.8 billion to 169,000 students

…8,000 terrorists, bandits neutralised

The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Alhaji Mohammed Idris, on Tuesday in Abuja disclosed that the Federal Government has disbursed N32.8 billion to 169,000 students under the Students Loan Fund, (NELFUND) scheme.

This, he said, including N20 billion in school fees and N12.8 billion in upkeep allowances.

Speaking on the achievements of President Bola Tinubu administration since May 2023, he said the removal of fuel subsidy had helped plug leakages amounting to hundreds of billions of Naira annually.

He listed other achievement to include reforms in the introduction of the Electronic Foreign Exchange Matching System, which resulted in unprecedented stability of forex.

He said, “Oil and gas reforms made Nigeria the most attractive destination for oil and gas investments in Africa as well as attracting over $5 billion in signed investment commitments known as Final Investment Decisions.

“President Tinubu signed into law the 2024 Electricity Act which is now serving as a framework for state governments to roll out their own regulated electricity markets.

“The efforts of Tinubu’s administration in July 2024 saw the Supreme Court issuing a landmark ruling empowering local governments with a level of financial autonomy hitherto unseen in the history of our country,” Idris said.

On targeted interventions, Idris explained that the Students Loan Fund, (NELFUND), had disbursed N32.8 billion to more than 169,000 students.

This, he said, including N20 billion in school fees and N12.8 billion in upkeep allowances.

He added that the president had signed bills establishing development commissions for the North-Central, South-East, and North-West Zones.

The minister said the President also assented to the bill establishing the Federal University of Environmental Technology in Ogoniland and the Maritime University in Okerenkoko, Delta.

Idris said the Federal Government through the National Health Insurance Authority was introducing targeted subsidies for cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy in Nigeria.

The minister said each patient was benefiting up to a value of N400,000.

“A year ago, Tinubu approved the upgrade of key health infrastructure and equipment across all six geo-political zones, starting with the establishment of oncology and nuclear medicine centres in six teaching hospitals,” he added.

Idris also said a backlog of over 200,000 international passports was cleared within a three-week period in 2024.

“On Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), the Tinubu administration has directly invested over $450 million in the development of Nigeria’s CNG value chain through the Presidential CNG Initiative.

“We now have over 150 Conversion Centres across the country and counting,” he said.

The minister said the National Values Charter as approved by the Federal Executive Council in 2024 would mark the beginning of a reset of national attitudes and values in Nigeria.

According to him, the Federal Government is determined to achieve a fundamental restructuring of the social contract empowering citizens to give their best to Nigeria while also demanding the best.

On infrastructure, Idris described Nigeria as a vast construction site now, adding that the Federal Executive Council had approved over N2.5 trillion worth of road infrastructure projects.

He further said a lot had been achieved in defence and security as well as food security sectors.

“In 2024, our security forces neutralised more than 8,000 terrorists and bandits, and arrested 11,600 others, with more than 10,000 weapons recovered.

Our forces are gaining ground against the bandits and terrorists,” he said.

He said Nigeria with its Ministry of Livestock Development would harness a multi-billion-dollar agricultural opportunity that could transform rural communities, enrich and empower millions of Nigerians.

According to him, there is now greater fiscal headroom at all levels of government and a reformed and less burdensome tax regime.