The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has described former Senator Dino Melaye as a “dolt” and an “uninformed dullard” over his claim that the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) only pays N20,000 to students in higher institutions.
In a statement signed by Dist. Comr. Akinteye Babatunde Afeez, GCNS, President, National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), the student body said Melaye’s comment betrayed a lack of understanding of the NELFUND initiative and amounted to a gross misrepresentation of facts.
NANS said that while it would have ignored Melaye’s “sheer ignorance and public display of folly,” it became necessary to set the record straight in the interest of the nation. It explained that NELFUND covers all fees payable by students, while the N20,000 is merely an upkeep support. Tuition fees and other payable charges, it said, are paid directly to the respective institutions, while upkeep is paid directly into students’ bank accounts.
The association added that the initiative has made education more accessible to Nigerians by reducing financial barriers, and that the official NELFUND platform clearly distinguishes between institutional payments and upkeep payments. It said it was intellectually dishonest for anyone to reduce the entire initiative to the N20,000 upkeep component.
NANS also criticised Melaye, a former student leader and former Senator, saying it was pathetic that he did not give scholarships to any student while in the Senate. It accused him of playing comedy since he lost his return bid to the Senate and urged him to desist from misleading the public.
“If he must play politics, he should seek knowledge and play politics with facts and issue-based campaigns,” the statement said. It added that Nigerian students deserve informed discourse, not uninformed commentary from people who ought to know better.
The student body advised Melaye to acquaint himself with the facts before rushing to the public space to display his ignorance. It said he is free to criticise the policy, but such criticism must be founded on facts, not ignorance, misinformation and deliberate distortion of an initiative designed to break financial barriers to higher education.
NANS further said Melaye is short of ideas and has resorted to attacking a policy benefiting millions of Nigerians, students and families. It described as pathetic his reduction of a comprehensive intervention to the N20,000 upkeep component, saying it exposed his lack of understanding of the scheme.
The association said millions of Nigerian students and their families are benefiting from NELFUND and that it was unfortunate that someone who once occupied a leadership position in the student movement would choose to misinform the public instead of contributing meaningfully. It urged him to focus on his “already washed-up political life” or enjoy his political sabbatical and allow those genuinely committed to improving the lives of Nigerian students to do their work.