President Bola Tinubu has directed that funds recovered by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), alongside unclaimed dividends and money held in dormant bank accounts, be channelled to the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND).
The directive is designed to strengthen funding for the Federal Government’s student loan programme and enable more Nigerian students to access financial support for tertiary education.
The move could provide NELFUND with additional resources to expand its operations as demand for student financing continues to increase. It also reflects the administration’s broader focus on using recovered and idle funds to support education and human capital development.
The directive comes amid the continued expansion of NELFUND’s student loan programme, which has seen the agency disburse billions of naira in institutional fees and upkeep allowances to students across public tertiary institutions.
NELFUND Managing Director, Jimtunde Sawyer, recently disclosed that the fund had disbursed more than ₦322 billion to beneficiaries. The amount included approximately ₦192 billion for institutional fees and ₦129.8 billion in student upkeep allowances.
The additional funding is expected to improve the sustainability of the student loan scheme, which operates as an interest-free revolving fund. Repayment is tied to beneficiaries’ employment and income after graduation.
Under the scheme, beneficiaries are required to repay 10 per cent of their income after securing employment. However, repayment is suspended during periods when beneficiaries are unemployed.
By directing recovered and dormant funds towards NELFUND, the Federal Government is creating a potential additional financing channel for the student loan programme while pursuing its wider objective of making tertiary education more accessible to Nigerian students.
The policy could also help strengthen the country’s investment in education and human capital by ensuring that financial constraints do not prevent qualified students from pursuing higher education.
