Data from the Nigerian Education Loan Fund indicates that students from Kano, Borno, and Benue states are the leading applicants for the student loan scheme. NELFUND shared this information through a data chart on its official X account, @nelfnigeria, on Friday, detailing the number of applicants by state of origin.

The chart reveals that Kano State has the highest number of applicants, totaling 17,122, followed by Borno with 13,798 and Benue with 11,754. Notably, these three states are the only ones with applicant numbers exceeding 11,000.

The student loan scheme is a key initiative of President Bola Tinubu in the education sector. Shortly after taking office, he enacted the Access to Higher Education Act, which establishes a legal framework for providing loans to low-income Nigerians to assist with their tuition fees in tertiary institutions across the country.

This law, which was reenacted earlier this year, led to the creation of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund. NELFUND is tasked with managing all aspects of loan applications, grants, disbursements, and recoveries.

According to the act, the fund will be financed through various sources and will also engage in other productive ventures. The number of applicants from other states includes Oyo with 8,990; Kaduna with 10,380; Katsina with 10,952; Osun with 8,093; Kogi with 8,400; Plateau with 9,328; Adamawa with 8,977; Kwara with 7,645; Taraba with 8,668; Yobe with 8,966; Ogun with 5,943; Akwa-Ibom with 6,525; Bauchi with 6,517; Kebbi with 6,333; Gombe with 6,121; Niger with 5,804; Jigawa with 5,535; Ondo with 3,854; Nasarawa with 4,789; Ekiti with 3,497; Imo with 2,802; Delta with 2,771; Ebonyi with 2,981; Cross-River with 2,476; and Enugu with 2,247.

Additionally, the numbers for other states are as follows: Abia with 2,170; Lagos with 2,347; Anambra with 1,840; Zamfara with 2,986; Edo with 2,149; Rivers with 2