NELFUND: We’ve disbursed N1.17bn for institutional fees in student loan scheme

The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) says it has disbursed over N1.17 billion in institutional fees as part of the federal government’s student loan scheme.

Akintunde Sawyerr, the NELFUND managing director, said on Wednesday that N1,172,388,340 was disbursed to cover 20,000 beneficiaries of the scheme.

He said NELFUND selected some schools and paid the “institutional fees” of the loan beneficiaries based on active academic calendars.

Sawyerr said disbursement to other institutions will be done at the beginning of their sessions to ensure transparency.

President Bola Tinubu enacted an initial version of the student loan policy in June 2023 to grant interest-free loans to students.

The scheme was to commence in October 2023 but implementation was repeatedly deferred until a re-enactment in April 2024.

NELFUND opened the loan application portal on May 24, at which time a pilot phase to serve federal tertiary institutions began.

The fund said the scheme would be open to state-owned tertiary institutions in its second rollout.

As of mid-July, over 110,000 applications had been received for the scheme, with 160,000 students registering on NELFUND’s portal.

Confirming the first tranche of NELFUND’s disbursement, Sawyerr said upkeep stipends will be paid to the students in the coming week.

He said the fund partnered with the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), the Department of State Services (DSS), the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).

These security agencies, he said, will work alongside the various banks involved in the disbursement process for transparency.

“Our collective aim is to minimize any potential leakages and to prosecute any wrongdoing swiftly and effectively,” Sawyerr added.

“All parties in the value chain are committed to upholding the highest standards of integrity and accountability.”