“APC Government Has Not Favoured Me” — Student Philia Ugbada Calls Out Nepotism, NELFUND Frustration On Live TV

A Nigerian student, Philia Ugbada, has gone viral after confronting the All Progressives Congress, APC, government over systemic nepotism and failure of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, NELFUND, on live television.

Ugbada spoke during Channels Television’s Generation Next program in Lagos, during the audience question and answer session. With boldness, she said the APC government has not favoured youth like herself, especially those from average families who do not know somebody that knows somebody.

She said 90 percent of those who come out to say the APC government is working for them are either connected to power or have become god-sons to those in power. According to her, the system is not decentralized, and jobs are shared before ordinary youths get to the frontline.

“Yes, we understand nepotism to a certain level, but what about those people who want to go through it the normal way and can’t get across to it? If you want to function, if you want to earn, if you want to be useful in this country, you have to have a touch of illegality, and it’s very appalling and it’s very bad,” she said.

Ugbada then took her frustration to NELFUND. She said she has been trying to apply for the loan since she heard of it, but has been met with one excuse after another.

“I’ve been talking about NELFUND, NELFUND, NELFUND. I’ve been trying to apply for this NELFUND since I heard of it. If it is not ‘Contact your institution’, it’s ‘Your database has not been uploaded’. From one excuse to the other,” she lamented.

She said she has paid money trying to fix the issues and is not even interested in school fees, just upkeep allowance, but still cannot access it.

“The APC government is favouring those it wants to favour, so that those same people will come out in form of tyranny and shut people’s mouth up when in reality, 99.9% of the youth in this country are suffering it,” she added.

Her outburst immediately drew reaction in the studio. The female host praised her courage, saying, “All right. Please, give her a round of applause. Thank you for your courage.” The audience responded with loud, sustained applause, validating her as speaking for many youths.

The host then turned to APC National Youth Leader, Dayo Israel, for immediate response.

Dayo Israel’s response started with an accusation of bias. He said the host was biased for clapping for Ugbada but not for the first lady who spoke favourably about government.

“So I think that you’ve been a bit biased here. Why didn’t you ask them to clap for the first lady that spoke? Your bias is very evident, because you wanted somebody who was going to speak from the angle of your own personal bias. But that’s not how life works,” Israel said.

The host then sarcastically said, “Oh, please! A round of applause for the first lady that spoke!”

Israel then defended the government. He said the country has over 200 million people and opportunities are decentralized at federal, state and local levels. He said thousands of youths are benefiting from bursaries in their states under APC, PDP, Labour governments.

On NELFUND, he blamed institutional delays, not government failure. He explained that universities must upload admission details before students can benefit, and that Open University and others have different resumption and exam times.

“That doesn’t mean that constructively, more than 1 million young Nigerians are not benefiting from NELFUND,” he said.

He argued government impact should not be judged by one scheme. He cited the Lateef Jakande Young People Program in Lagos, Kwara State where Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq gives at least 500,000 Naira checks to over 100 youths yearly, some winning millions, and Akwa Ibom Governor’s ARISE Agenda supporting farmers and businesses.

He admitted not everyone has been reached. “Nigeria is very big, so not everybody has been met. Even under Trader Moni and Market Moni, not every market woman has been able to benefit. But the fact is that it’s a progression. Government is a continuum,” he said.

He added that even if you don’t benefit directly from student loans, you benefit from roads built by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, citing movement from Victoria Island to Oregun, Ajah or Lekki in Lagos.

“Let’s be realistic with ourselves. The truth is we have not been able to solve all the problems of Nigeria. Not every problem will be solved in one administration, it’s a continuum. But the effort to continue to improve the lives and wellbeing of people — is there more work to do? Yes, there is a lot more work to be done,” Israel concluded.