The National Association of Nigerian Colleges of Education Students (NANCES) has reacted strongly to recent comments attributed to former presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi, in which he reportedly described the Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) as a “waste of resources” and suggested it should be scrapped.
In a statement released on Thursday by the National President of NANCES, Comrade Kur Isaac Ushahemba, the student body expressed deep disappointment over what it described as a “misguided and uninformed position” on an initiative established to support millions of Nigerian students facing financial hardship.
According to the association, the Education Loan Fund was not introduced as a luxury but as a critical intervention aimed at expanding access to tertiary education, particularly for indigent students who may be denied schooling due to prevailing economic realities.
“To refer to NELFUND as a waste of resources is to ignore the harsh financial challenges confronting Nigerian students and their families,” the statement read.
Comrade Ushahemba noted that education loan schemes are not peculiar to Nigeria, emphasizing that even the most developed nations across the world operate structured student loan systems as pillars of educational advancement and national growth.
NANCES listed countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia, where student loans remain central tools for strengthening access to education and building long-term human capital development.
The association maintained that financing education should never be regarded as wasteful expenditure but rather as a strategic investment in the future of the nation.
The leadership further challenged Mr. Obi to adopt a more constructive and informed approach when discussing youth-centered policies, stressing that scrapping such a scheme would amount to a direct setback for Nigerian students.
“NELFUND is not a waste. It is an investment in human capital. Any call to scrap it is a disservice to the aspirations of millions of Nigerian youths,” Comrade Ushahemba added.
NANCES reaffirmed its commitment to advocating for policies that promote equitable access to education and urged political stakeholders to prioritize initiatives that safeguard the future of Nigerian students.