7,000 FUTA students benefit from Tinubu’s education loan scheme — VC

By Boye Oyeyemi

More than 7,000 undergraduate students of the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), Ondo State, have benefited from the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) introduced by the President Bola Tinubu administration, the university’s Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Adenike Oladiji, has said.

Oladiji disclosed this on Friday during a press briefing ahead of the university’s 37th convocation ceremony, commending the Federal Government for the initiative, which she said had eased the financial burden on students and their families.

She explained that the scheme had enabled students from financially disadvantaged backgrounds to pursue their chosen courses without allowing financial constraints to frustrate their academic ambitions.

“About 7,000 students of FUTA have benefited from NELFUND, while many others are still applying. This is an initiative of President Bola Tinubu, which I believe is working,” the vice-chancellor said.

Meanwhile, Oladiji announced that the university would graduate 4,212 students at the convocation, comprising 3,039 undergraduates and 1,173 postgraduate students.

Of the undergraduate graduands, 256 obtained First Class honours, while 1,717 earned Second Class Upper, 964 secured Second Class Lower and 102 graduated with Third Class degrees.

She also named Daniel Victor Akintola of the Department of Computer Science as the best graduating student for the 2025/2026 academic session, with a cumulative grade point average of 4.94. In addition, two retired professors, Thomas Inomisan Ofuya and Felix Akinsola Akinyosoye, will be conferred with the title of Professor Emeritus in recognition of their contributions to the university.

Speaking on the challenges facing public universities, Oladiji said FUTA was exploring internally generated revenue, research grants and strategic partnerships to sustain its operations rather than relying entirely on government funding. She also acknowledged the loss of experienced academic and non-academic staff to opportunities abroad but said the university was pursuing research collaborations, postdoctoral programmes and improved staff welfare to address the trend.