The National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), the Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), and the Data Mining Company have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to ensure seamless access of students to education loans with biometric-enabled cards.
The MoU was signed at the headquarters of NELFUND in Abuja by the Director General of NIMC, Abisoye Coker-Odusote, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Nigeria Education Loan Fund, Akintunde Sawyer and the Managing Director of Data Mining Company, Femi Akande.
The NELFUND boss, Sawyer described the MoU as a groundbreaking event to drive financial inclusion, promote transparency and accountability in the deployment of Government to People Service Card (G2PS-card).
Sawyer said the MoU would open a new vitsa for Nigerian students to access loans seamlessly using multiple wallets as facilitated by the biometric-enabled cards from NIMC.
Sawyer praised President Bola Tinubu for rolling out socio-economic programmes that would change the narratives for Nigerian students, saying the Renewed Hope Agenda of the administration would have far reaching positive impacts for Nigerian students.
The CEO of NIMC, Abisoye Coker-Odusote, in her remarks, noted that the biometric-enabled cards are parts of products from NIMC to drive digital and financial inclusion and ensure that every single beneficiary of government services (loans) have verifiable identity.
Coker-Odusote maintained that the biometric-enabled cards have multiple wallets for students and could be used online and offline to access loans and other services.
According to Coker-Odusote, the cards would also make it possible to track loans disbursement and ensure they are used for the purposes intended, noting that it would promote transparency, accountability and eliminate unnecessary bureaucracy.
“The biometric-enabled cards are unique in promoting digital and financial inclusion because of the layers of features in them. They cannot be forged or faked.
“They have features that make cash available in students wallets..the students can easily access their allowances, buy books and make transfers without waiting for banks. The cards operate online and offline”, Coker-Odusote said.
