The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) disbursed N11 billion to 90,000 students within six months, according to its Managing Director, Dr. Akintunde Sawyerr. He revealed this during an oversight visit by the Senate Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TETFUND, led by Chairman Muntari Dandutse, at NELFUND’s headquarters in Abuja.
“Three hundred students have been deemed to qualify for the loans. The gap between those that have qualified and those in benefit of the loan is that we have to go through a rigorous process to ensure we are not giving money to the wrong people,” Sawyerr explained, emphasizing the agency’s careful vetting process.
From a budget of N96 billion set aside for student loans, nearly N11 billion has already reached students across the country. Sawyerr noted, “The rest of it is going to be disbursed over the next few weeks until it gets to that N96 billion.”
NELFUND offers two types of loans: the Institutional Loan, which covers tuition, and the Upkeep Loan, which supports living expenses. “They don’t have to apply for either loan,” Sawyerr clarified. “However, they can only apply for the upkeep loan if they have applied for the institutional loan and received it.”
Through this program, NELFUND aims to uplift students under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope mandate. Regional data shows that 38% of beneficiaries are from the Northwest, followed by the Northeast at 26%, Southwest at 13%, Northcentral at 12%, Southeast at 10%, and Southsouth at 4%.
“This is a profit-making activity for the nation (the beneficiaries),” Sawyerr stated, clarifying that repayment terms are set to encourage rather than deter education. Graduates are required to begin repaying the loan two years after completing the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) if they are employed, with employers responsible for deducting repayments directly from salaries.
Chairman Dandutse commended NELFUND’s efforts, stating, “Over 90,000 students have access to the loan, in spite of the challenges and constraints. This is a very significant development in terms of success of education in Nigeria.”
The committee also visited the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) in Bwari, Abuja, as part of its evaluation of federal educational initiatives.
