President Bola Tinubu has directed that funds recovered by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), as well as unclaimed dividends and money in dormant bank accounts, be channelled to the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND).
The directive is aimed at strengthening the financing of the Federal Government’s student loan scheme and ensuring that more Nigerian students can access funding for tertiary education.
The move could provide NELFUND with additional resources to expand its loan programme as demand for student financing continues to grow.
It also signals the administration’s intention to deploy recovered and otherwise idle public funds towards education and human capital development.
The directive comes as NELFUND continues to disburse billions of naira in institutional fees and student upkeep allowances to beneficiaries across public tertiary institutions.
NELFUND Managing Director, Mr Jimtunde Sawyer, recently said the fund had disbursed more than N322 billion, including about N192 billion in institutional fees and N129.8 billion in upkeep allowances.
The development is expected to strengthen the sustainability of the student loan scheme, which operates as an interest-free revolving fund, with repayments linked to beneficiaries’ employment and income.
Under the scheme, beneficiaries are expected to repay 10 per cent of their income once they secure employment, while repayment is suspended when they are unemployed.
The President’s directive therefore provides a potential additional funding stream for the scheme while supporting the government’s broader objective of expanding access to higher education.
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