The Presidency has defended the Federal Government’s student loan scheme, saying beneficiaries receive tuition support and monthly upkeep allowances, following criticism attributed to former Kogi West senator, Dino Melaye.

Dr Abiodun Essiet, Senior Special Assistant to President Bola Tinubu on Community Engagement (North-Central), gave the explanation in Abuja on Thursday during a media engagement organised by the Directorate of Infrastructure Mobilisation and Sensitisation of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council.

Essiet said about 850,000 students had benefited from the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), explaining that the scheme was designed to ease the financial burden of higher education.

Responding to remarks attributed to Melaye about the amount paid to students, she said the monthly upkeep allowance was separate from tuition fees, which are paid directly to the institutions.

According to her, beneficiaries are not required to begin repayment immediately after graduation but are expected to repay their loans when they secure employment and have a stable source of income.

She added that the government was working towards establishing a database of beneficiaries to support efforts to connect graduates with employment opportunities.

Essiet’s defence of the scheme came as she outlined infrastructure and development projects being implemented across the North-Central region, including Benue, Kogi, Kwara, Nasarawa, Niger and Plateau states, as well as the Federal Capital Territory.

She said the projects reflected the administration’s interventions in road construction, electricity, agriculture, housing, healthcare and industrial development.

On road infrastructure, Essiet listed the Bida-Mokwa road, Lafia Bypass, Abuja-Lokoja road, Abuja-Kaduna-Kano highway and Ninth Mile-Otukpo road among projects either under construction or completed in sections.

She said the projects were expected to improve connectivity, ease traffic congestion and facilitate the movement of people and goods across the region.

On electricity, the presidential aide said rural electrification initiatives had delivered more than 131 mini-grids, 85 grid-extension projects and 10,470 solar streetlights across the North-Central region.

She added that solar home systems had been installed in 6,089 homes, while other projects were targeting improved electricity supply to communities and public institutions.

In agriculture, Essiet said the Federal Government had distributed 80,640 bags of fertiliser and other farm inputs, while 20,160 farmers had benefited from the Renewed Hope Farm Input Support Programme.

She also cited the construction of rural access roads and markets, irrigation projects and the distribution of solar-powered irrigation pumps as interventions aimed at improving agricultural production and reducing post-harvest losses.

According to her, 69 rural markets had been constructed in the region, while more than 1,300 solar-powered irrigation pumps had been supplied to farming communities.

On industrial development, Essiet said the government was pursuing efforts to revive the Ajaokuta Steel Company and expand local processing of mineral resources, including lithium in Nasarawa State.

She also highlighted investments in compressed natural gas infrastructure, housing, healthcare and livestock development, alongside the establishment of the North Central Development Commission to address challenges peculiar to the region.

Essiet urged the media to communicate the administration’s interventions to residents, saying public awareness of the projects was important to the region’s development.

The figures and project status presented by the presidential aide were not independently verified for this report.