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Final-year medical student turns food vendor amidst ASUU strike

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Final-year medical student turns food vendor amidst ASUU strike

A final year student of Medicine and Surgery in the Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, Usman Abubakar-Rimi, has turned to a street food vendor due to the prolonged industrial action by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).

In an interview with newsmen on Friday in Sokoto, Abubakar-Rimi said he conceived the initiative in order to engage in productive living as the strike forced students to become redundant.

Abubakar-Rimi, who owned a food outlet and Indomie joint in the Diplomat area in Sokoto metropolis explained that the ongoing extended strike embarked on by the Academic Staff Union of Universities gave him the full opportunity.

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He explained that he ventured into full-scale food selling in the last two months and described the business as lucrative.

“I hired a shop, employing eight people manning tea and Indomie joints, selling bottled and canned drinks, masa, rice and beans, pepper soup and meat along with the Point of Sale business.

“A plate of food sells from N200 and above depending on the needs of the customer,”  Abubakar-Rimi said.

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He added that he owned another shop on Fodio road also in the Sokoto metropolis where he sells men’s and women’s clothing, caps, student bags, and shoes.

Abubakar-Rimi said he did not access any loan or youths empowerment scheme to embark on the businesses.

Read Also: Organisation calls for partnerships on SDGs action-plan in Nigeria

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“However, I utilised the opportunity of COVID-19 lockdown, during the pandemic, and started an egg and chicken distribution business where I had made contacts with restaurants for the supply.

“I also obtained the eggs and chickens from large scale farms from small amounts to higher quantity suppliers, from the proceeds I started the two businesses,” Abubakar-Rimi added.

Abubakar-Rimi added that the businesses had a lot of prospects and encouraged youths to think about ways to utilise their time and venture into viable initiatives.

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He further explained that when the school resumed, the businesses would be sustained and combined with his academic activities.

He advised students to utilise their free time to engage in businesses, stressing that the present online services provided a lot of opportunities to leverage.

The student, however, called on President Muhammadu Buhari to find a lasting solution to strikes in the interest of youths and the country’s progress.

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He further appealed to the lecturers to consider the students’ plights and resolve the issue with some offers by the Federal Government as the effects of strikes bite hardest on all categories of Nigerians.

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Education

NELFUND Begins Upkeep Payments to Over 3,600 Students After Bank Detail Update

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NELFUND Disburses Over N20bn in Student Loans, Assures Transparency

The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has commenced the disbursement of upkeep payments to students who successfully updated their bank account details from digital wallets to commercial bank accounts.

This was announced in a statement released on Friday in Abuja by the Director of Strategic Communications of the Fund, Mrs. Oseyemi Oluwatuyi.

Oluwatuyi described the development as a significant breakthrough in addressing earlier disbursement delays.

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“Over 3,600 students, who previously registered with digital-only banking platforms, have now successfully received their backlog of upkeep payments after updating their details to conventional commercial bank accounts on the NELFUND portal,” she stated.

“We appreciate the patience and understanding of all affected students during this period. Your resilience and cooperation have made this progress possible,” she added.

The NELFUND spokesperson advised students who have yet to update their bank details to raise a support ticket via the official NELFUND portal to request access for the update.

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She further urged affected students to report through the IT office of their respective institutions, which would compile and forward all related cases to NELFUND for prompt resolution.

“NELFUND remains committed to ensuring that no eligible student is left behind. This resolution process is part of our broader effort to enhance the efficiency, transparency, and student-centered delivery of our support services,” she said.

Oluwatuyi encouraged students to continue engaging only through official NELFUND channels and to assist their peers who may need help navigating the update process.

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She also provided contact options for inquiries, stating that the fund can be reached via email at info@nelf.gov.ng or through its official social media handles: X (formerly Twitter) @nelfund; Instagram @nelfund; and Facebook & LinkedIn: Nigerian Education Loan Fund – NELFUND.

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Education

NELFUND Urges Institutions to Upload Student Data for Loan Processing

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NELFUND Disburses Over N20bn in Student Loans, Assures Transparency

The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has issued a directive to all accredited tertiary institutions to verify and upload their students’ data on the newly digitised Student Loan Application System (SLAS).

This was disclosed in a statement released in Abuja on Wednesday by the Director of Strategic Communications at NELFUND, Mrs Oseyemi Oluwatuyi.

According to Oluwatuyi, the SLAS platform has been fully digitised to streamline and accelerate the student loan processing experience for both institutions and applicants.

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“With this upgrade, all accredited institutions are now required to request access to SLAS to verify and upload student data related to loan applications,” she said.

She described the move as “a critical step that ensures the timely processing and disbursement of approved student loans.”

Institutions that have not yet been onboarded onto the system, she said, are advised to send an access request to registration@nelf.gov.ng without delay.

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“Once granted access, institutions will be able to view a real-time dashboard of their students’ loan applications, verify submitted data, and track the status of each application,” Oluwatuyi explained.

She called on all institutions to take immediate action in the interest of their students, stressing that verification and data upload by institutions are mandatory steps before final approval and disbursement of loans can be completed.

On the students’ side, Oluwatuyi noted that if an application status currently shows “Verified,” it means the application has passed initial checks. However, final approval and disbursement depend on the institutions’ confirmation and data upload.

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“Once this process is completed, your status will be updated to ‘Disbursed’ when the payment of your fees has been processed,” she added.

She also encouraged students to reach out to the fund for assistance via email at info@nelf.gov.ng.

Other official communication channels include:

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  • X (formerly Twitter): @nelfund

  • Instagram: @nelfund

  • Facebook & LinkedIn: Nigerian Education Loan Fund – NELFUND

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Education

NUC grants ESUT full accreditation for Law, 7 other programmes

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The National Universities Commission, (NUC), has given full accreditation to the Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT), for her Law programme.

According to the Public Relations Officer of ESUT, Mr Ikechukwu Ani, this is contained in a letter addressed to the institution’s Vice Chancellor, Prof. Aloysius Okolie, on Wednesday in Enugu by the NUC.

Ani said that in the letter, the Executive Secretary of NUC, Prof. Abdullahi Ribadu said the report was contained in the result of the October/November 2024 accreditation of academic programmes in Nigerian universities.

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Ani disclosed that other programmes in the institution accredited by the NUC include Master of Science in Business Management; Education Computer Science; Education Physics and Agricultural Engineering.

Other accredited programmes he said were Quantity Surveying; Urban and Regional Planning; and Applied Microbiology.

He said that the letter quoted Section 10 (1) of the Education National Minimum Standard and Establishment of Institutions, Act CAP E3, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004 as empowering the NUC to lay down minimum academic standards for all academic programmes taught in Nigerian universities.

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He said the session also empowers the NUC to accredit such programmes.

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