NELFUND, NIMC SIGN MOU ON ROLL OUT OF BIOMETRIC -ENABLED G2P CARDS TO STUDENTS 08-03-25
By Sadiq Aminu. The Nigerian Education Loan Fund, NELFUND and the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), has signed a Memorandum of Understanding to roll out of multi-purpose Government-to-People, G2P cards to students for enhanced access to loan and administration.
At the signing in Abuja, the Managing Director of NELFUND, Mr. Akintunde Sawyerr said the agreement would drive financial inclusion, promote transparency and accountability through the deployment of the Card.
He expressed the commitment of NELFUND management to the project, adding that the MoU would open a new vitsa for Nigerian students to access loans seamlessly using multiple wallets as facilitated by the biometric-enabled card from NIMC.
Sawyerr highlighted immense support of NIMC to the success being recorded in the administration and disbursement of loans to students by providing essential identity verification services.
“I’m impressed with the work NIMC is doing, without NIMC, NELFUND literally cannot function,” he said.
The Director-General of NIMC, Mr. Abisoye Coker-Odusote explained that the biometric-enabled cards are part of products from the Commission to ensure every beneficiary of government services such as loans had verifiable identity.
She added that the biometric-enabled cards have multiple wallets for students and could be used online and offline to access loans and other services.
Speaking further, the NIMC boss said the cards would also make it possible to track loans disbursement and ensure they were used for the purposes intended, noting that it would promote transparency, accountability and eliminate unnecessary bureaucracy.
“The biometric-enabled cards is 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.
Africa247 Correspondent reports that the National Identity Number (NIN)-enabled G2P card is payment enabled and allows students to access their upkeep loans directly without necessarily waiting for banks as they could use the card to access different electronic services including point of sales (POS), automated teller machine (ATM) and web payment.