The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFund) has announced the extension of its interest-free loan programme to include vocational and technical skills centres across the country, with Enugu State among the first states set to benefit from the initiative.
The expansion was unveiled on Friday during a sensitisation campaign in Enugu, led by Iyal Mustapha, Executive Director of Operations at NELFund. The campaign included visits to key institutions such as the Institute of Management and Technology (IMT), Enugu College of Education Technical, and the MSME Clinics Fashion and Garment Hub.
Mustapha said the goal is to empower Nigerians pursuing technical and vocational education by covering training costs, transport-related institutional fees, upkeep, and post-training work tools.
“We are going to open our portal for people to apply for vocational skills, and we are going to have these centres in place to say, if you apply from Enugu, this is where to go,” Mustapha said.
He noted that the upkeep allowance is still being finalised, but that training costs will be disbursed based on proposals from approved centres. He also confirmed that over 10 states have been included in the rollout, with Enugu described as one of the most prepared.
“What I see is very positive. Enugu will be one of the first states we’re going to start with,” he added.
Arinze Chilo-Offiah, Special Adviser to the Governor on Digital Economy and SME Development and Director-General of the Enugu SME Centre, expressed the state’s readiness for the programme. He highlighted the capacity of the MSME Clinics Fashion and Garment Hub, which he said can accommodate large-scale training.
“We can sit at any given point in time, 300 plus or closer to 500. This is just the fashion hub,” Chilo-Offiah said.
Patricia Nwanneka, Acting Registrar of IMT, commended the initiative, describing it as timely and empowering. She encouraged students to seize the opportunity.
“Now that they have gotten more knowledge, we will go on to educate more of them, inculcating them into applying for the loan,” she said.
