By Ngozi Nwankwo
The National Director of Strategy, Deployment and Implementation of the Relax, Tinubu Is Fixing Nigeria (RTIFN) initiative, Hon. Shedrach Egede, has described the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFund) as a major opportunity for school-age Nigerians seeking access to higher education.
Egede made the remarks during a visit to Charity Hopes Orphanage Home in Apo Dutse, Abuja, where he donated food items and other relief materials as part of his outreach to vulnerable members of society.
He urged students and parents facing financial challenges to take advantage of the Federal Government’s NELFund scheme, saying it provides eligible Nigerians with the opportunity to pursue tertiary education without being hindered by a lack of funds.
According to him, the education loan initiative is one of the key social intervention programmes introduced under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda to expand access to education.
Egede, who is also the Director-General of the Tinubu Youth Vanguard Organisation, encouraged wealthy Nigerians, philanthropists and corporate organisations to support orphans and other vulnerable groups through charitable giving.
He said investing in the welfare and education of disadvantaged children would help reduce poverty, inequality and other social challenges that often contribute to insecurity.
“Rather than organising a lavish birthday celebration, I chose to spend this special day with these children because bringing hope to the less privileged gives greater fulfilment,” he said.
The RTIFN director noted that his visit also created an opportunity to enlighten the orphanage management on the NELFund programme, adding that they were previously unaware of how eligible children could benefit from the initiative.
He pledged to assist the orphanage in guiding qualified beneficiaries through the application process to enable them to access the education loan scheme.
Egede further appealed to Nigerians to continue supporting the Tinubu administration, stating that several reforms and intervention programmes have produced positive outcomes despite facing public criticism.
