The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) Denies Missing N71 billion from the student loan scheme, despite reports suggesting otherwise.
Earlier, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) announced it had launched a thorough investigation into alleged irregularities in the disbursement of student loans under NELFUND.
According to the ICPC’s preliminary findings, although the Federal Government allocated N100 billion for the scheme, only N28.8 billion had been distributed to students, leaving N71.2 billion unaccounted for.
In response to the development, the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) expressed concern and pledged to stage protests over the reported discrepancies.
Meanwhile, the National Orientation Agency (NOA) suggested that certain educational institutions may be collaborating with some banks to delay disbursements intentionally in order to profit from the situation.
Speaking on a monitored television programme, Managing Director and CEO, NELFUND, Akintunde Sawyerr, reassured that the fund is in good standing.
He clarified that no money has been stolen and emphasized that the President’s initiative to establish the Nigeria Education Loan Fund was well-intentioned.
He explained that the establishment of NELFUND was a well-meaning initiative by the President to assist students who lack the financial means to pursue higher education.
Sawyerr emphasized that the Fund is being used for its intended purpose and that any issues so far have been at the level of human handling, not theft.
He said, “We are all looking for this so-called money. First of all, let me be very clear. No money has been stolen. The President, in his wisdom and well-intentioned programme, decided that he was going to set up the Nigeria Education Loan Fund.
“So the funds that we’ve been given is to bridge the gap for those who don’t have the money to be able to attain the education. 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.”
Sawyerr also confirmed meeting with the NOA Director-General, Lanre Issa-Oniru over the embarrassing development.
“So I meet with Mr. Oniru regularly but the conversation you’re referring to took place on the telephone. But let me go back and just continue to correct this misconception. No N71bn is missing. So let’s break it down. Let me tell you we’ve received not even N100bn. The Nigerian Education Loan Fund has received about N203bn.
“I’ll break it down for you – N10bn from the Office of the Minister of Finance through the Office of the Accountant General, N50bn from the EFCC’s proceeds of crime and N143bn from TETFund. So you can see already that the actual amount received is in excess of what’s even been said to have been received.
“Out of that, N54bn has been disbursed to date while N30bn and N24bn had gone to institutions and for upkeep respectively. So there’s a pocket money side to this. That’s N54bn disbursed already in the space of about 11 and a half months. It’s in the Central Bank of Nigeria.”
The NELFUND boss also clarified that there was no instance where any student received a loan directly from their initiative.
He also confirmed that there is an ongoing investigation to unravel the mystery behind the allegation of delayed payments and, in some cases, money not reaching the genuine beneficiaries.
“Let me correct a misconception there. There is no disbursement from the NELFUND account through the schools, to the students. The NELFUND money goes to the schools for their tuition or their institutional charges. The schools are supposed to give unfettered access to the students for classes.
“The schools do not disburse to the students, except in the case where the student has already paid their fees, in which case there’s been a double payment. So there’s a very careful meticulous investigation going on to try to understand where this is happening and how it’s happening.
“Some of the schools, as a result of this brouhaha, have started making those refunds available. But it’s not acceptable. Students should not be exploited in this way,” Sawyerr stated.
