The Managing Director of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), Mr. Akintunde Sawyerr, has vowed that any institution found guilty of deducting loans meant for students will be “severely sanctioned.”
The NELFUND boss made this statement on Friday night during an interview on Arise TV at 9, where he shed light on the total amount the Fund currently holds and how much had been disbursed as of the time of the interview.
He expressed confidence that the emergency meeting summoned by the Ministry of Education would address the issue and reiterated that “any institution found culpable will be severely sanctioned.”
Sawyerr also clarified that there are no missing funds, countering an earlier erroneous report by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
However, he acknowledged some minor challenges reported by students, stating that “they are not receiving value because some of the school didn’t allow them into class even after the school received the loan,” and assured that the matter is being addressed.
NELFUND Has Disbursed N54 Billion as Institutional Loans
According to Sawyerr, the Fund currently holds N203 billion, received from the government, which includes a N50 billion support fund from the EFCC.
Of the total amount, N54 billion has been disbursed to institutions across the country as tuition fees for successful applicants who “passed the robust verification process of NELFUND,” while another N24 billion has been paid directly to verified applicants as monthly upkeep loans.
He noted that only about 30% of the available funds had been expended as of May 2, 2025. He described it as a “moving fund” because more beneficiaries are being paid, and institutional loans are disbursed monthly.
Monitoring Mechanism
Speaking on the monitoring system put in place, Mr. Sawyerr said: “When we disburse, we follow the money and confirm that the money has been paid into the institution account. And we update the beneficiaries in their dashboard that their loan has been disbursed” so they can follow up.
On why a large portion of the fund remains unspent, the NELFUND MD explained, “We only release fund based on the verified applications and the number of students that qualified.”
NELFUND officially commenced operations in 2024 following several amendments to an an existing bill on education loan. It is designed to lift the burden of tuition payment off parents and students in higher institutions across Nigeria.
However, reports of alleged misconduct by some universities may hinder NELFUND from achieving its goals if the issues are not swiftly addressed.
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