The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) management, on Tuesday, announced a 14-day postponement of the application process for student loans for state institutions.

This development was due to “low data submissions,” according to a statement by the agency in Abuja.

NELFUND said the decision was necessitated by the failure of several state-owned institutions to upload the required student data and fee information to its Student Verification System.

“To date, only a limited number of state-owned institutions have successfully completed the data submission process. These include 20 state universities out of 48; 12 state colleges out of 54 and two state polytechnics out of 49.

“While we acknowledge the efforts of these institutions, the failure to submit data from the remaining state institutions poses significant challenges to ensuring a seamless and accurate verification process for student loan applicants.

“The application window, initially set to open on June 25, 2024, will now commence on July 10, 2024,” the statement read.

The NELFUND said the extension would provide additional time for state institutions to comply with the data submission requirements and ensure their students benefitted from the Federal Government’s student loan scheme.

To facilitate an efficient and error-free application process, the Fund said all state institutions needed to provide complete and accurate information.

The information required included the Joint Admissions Matriculation Board numbers, matriculation numbers, admission numbers, full names, level, faculties and departments, duration of programme, fees and gender of all eligible students.

It said incomplete or incorrect data submissions would result in application delays and potential disqualification for affected students.

The fund urged all state institutions to expedite their data submission processes and ensure the accuracy of the information provided.

William Ruto, Kenyan President, has described the escalating protests gripping the East African country as “treasonable”.

Since last week, a contentious finance measure has prompted youth-led rallies around the country. On Tuesday, the protests took a sharp turn when demonstrators broke through the barricade and gained entry to parliament.

Once inside, they threw aside flags, knocked over tables and chairs, grabbed the ceremonial mace, and set fire to a portion of the assembly.

There was an underground tunnel that lawmakers in the parliament building had to escape through. Next, the demonstrators would plunder MP-affiliated stores and nightclubs.

In an effort to put an end to the protests, police in Nairobi shot live ammunition and threw tear gas at the protestors.

Kenyan police were also seen beating and later arresting some paramedics who were helping injured protesters.

During a nationwide address after parliament was invaded, Ruto said Tuesday’s turn of events was a grave threat to “national security” and that the conversation around the bill had been “hijacked by dangerous people”.

“It is not in order, or even conceivable, that criminals pretending to be peaceful protesters can rain terror against the people, their elected representatives, and the institutions established under our constitution and expect to go scot-free,” the president said.

Ruto said democratic expression and crime must be isolated and vowed that the state would respond fully to the situation, reiterating his commitment to protect citizens.

Shortly after his speech, Aden Duale, cabinet secretary for defence and chairperson of the defence council, said the Kenyan Defence Forces (KDF) has been deployed to “support” the police on the streets.

33 compressed natural gas (CNG)-powered vehicles will be purchased for N1.99 billion by the federal executive council (FEC) in order to improve the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency’s (NDLEA) activities.

The sanction was granted by the council on Tuesday at an Abuja meeting chaired by President Bola Tinubu.

After the meeting, Lateef Fagbemi, the minister of justice and attorney general of the federation (AGF), spoke with State House media and said that the council also approved the purchase of weapons and ammunition valued at $1.442 billion to support the NDLEA’s efforts to combat drug trafficking.

Fagbemi said the FEC approved N985 million to purchase body scanners at all the country’s international airports.

“We submitted three items to the council on NDLEA,” he said.

“FEC approved the procurement of 33 Mikano motor vehicles CNG to boost the operation of NDLEA.

“Approval for NDLEA for procurement of firearms, ammunition, and counter-narcotics for the sum of $1.442 billion.

“The procurement of two units of body scanners for use both at Abuja and International Airports at N985 million.”