The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) says it has disbursed ₦86 billion to support 449,000 students out of 735,000 applications received so far under its student loan scheme.
NELFUND Managing Director, Akintunde Sawyerr, in an interview on Channels Television’s breakfast show Sunrise Daily programme on Friday, detailed the scope of the loan programme and its daily growth.
‘As of this morning, 742,000 students have registered on our portal and been cleared as potential applicants. Of that number, 735,000 have applied for the loan, meaning they have completed the process and formally submitted their applications.
‘The number of students who have benefitted, meaning those whose school fees have been paid, or whose school fees and stipends have been paid in instalments, stands at 449,000. Applications are growing by about 3,000 to 3,500 per day.
‘So far, ₦47 billion has been paid to 218 federally and state-owned tertiary institutions, including universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education, while ₦38 billion has been disbursed as stipends. In total, we have disbursed ₦86 billion’, he said on Friday.
Sawyerr also explained that the turnaround time for loan processing is between 30 and 45 days, provided applicants meet all criteria.
‘We’re not working to a deadline to pay people; we’re working to a process that is robust, fully auditable, and accountable. Once an application is processed, we send it to the applicant’s institution for verification to confirm the student’s identity, course of study, and fees.
‘Only after receiving a signed confirmation from the school do we proceed, and that internal process takes another two to three weeks. If there are issues with any individual or institution during this process, payment will not be made until they are resolved’, he said.
Weighing on the ongoing investigation into the scheme, the NELFUND chief acknowledged concerns about accountability.
‘Managing public funds is subject to probity, and vigilance is necessary in the process. There must be responsibility at every stage’, he said, adding that there had been a case of double payment and alleged collusion.
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) announced in May that it had opened an investigation into alleged discrepancies in the disbursement of student loans, claiming ₦71 billion was unaccounted for.
The ICPC said it was probing reports of illegal deductions, ranging from ₦3,500 to ₦30,000, from students’ institutional fees by some schools. However, NELFUND denied any mismanagement.
Separately, the House of Representatives passed a resolution to investigate alleged violations of the Student Loan Act.
