N58.85bn paid to Nigerian students in 12 months — NELFUND amid missing fund saga

The Nigerian Education Loan Fund said it has disbursed N58.85 billion to cover over 550,000 students’ tuition and upkeep fees in one year amid missing fund controversies.

NELFUND, Director of Corporate Communications, Oseyemi Oluwatuyi, disclosed this in a statement on Saturday to mark the agency’s one-year anniversary after its establishment by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on May 24, 2024.

NELFUND said it has over 600,000 students registered and over 550,000 successful loan applications in the last year.

“This milestone reflects a bold commitment by the federal government to empower Nigerian students by removing financial barriers to higher education.

“In just twelve months, NELFUND has transformed access to education financing with over 600,000 students registered and over 550,000 successful loan applications; ₦56.85 billion disbursed to cover tuition fees and provide upkee”p, the statement partly reads.

This comes amid controversies over N71 billion missing and unaccounted funds in NELFUND.

Recall that three weeks ago, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, announced a probe of NELFUND over discrepancies surrounding fund disbursement to students under the scheme.

However, NELFUND Managing Director, Akintunde Sawyerr clarified that no fund was missing.

“No money is missing. No money has been stolen. There had been some issues with what happened at the phase of this where human intervention comes in,” he said in an interview with Channels Television on May 4, 2025.

N58.85bn paid to Nigerian students in 12 months — NELFUND amid missing fund saga