Northern Nigeria accounts for 1 million beneficiaries of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, the Presidency disclosed on Wednesday during a stakeholder engagement with Student Union leaders from 19 northern universities in Abuja.

Special Adviser to the President on Policy Coordination, Hadiza Bala Usman, who addressed the meeting organised by the Northern Project Coordination Office in collaboration with NELFUND and the Presidential Initiative on Compressed Natural Gas and Electric Vehicles, urged student union leaders to hold the Government accountable for its electoral promises.

"Northern Nigeria has been the highest beneficiary, and in that regard, we wanted to engage with the leadership and elected officials of student unions across 19 northern Universities to discuss the extent to which they have felt the impact of NELFUND in their academic structure, and for the recognition of what President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's administration has done for students within the last three years," she stated.

The Coordinator of the Northern Project Coordination Office, Dr. Shamsudeen Usman, explained that the meeting aimed to examine students' challenges and review initiatives introduced for their benefit. He confirmed that the current administration had implemented programmes supporting education in Tertiary Institutions.

Chairman of the Presidential Initiative on Compressed Natural Gas and Electric Vehicles, Ismaila Ahmed, disclosed that the initiative had rolled out projects in schools and had commenced activities in 20 Universities across the country.

Students who attended the engagement commended both the NELFUND and PiCNG initiatives, but appealed for institutional loans to be paid directly into students' personal accounts for onward remittance to their Institutions.