The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has uncovered major discrepancies in the administration of the Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), revealing that only ₦44.2 billion of the ₦203.8 billion allocated for student loans has so far been disbursed.
The spokesperson of the Commission, Demola Bakare, made this disclosure in a statement issued on Thursday, 1 May, 2025
According to Bakare, the Commission has confirmed it and has launched a comprehensive investigation into the disbursement process, following media reports that 51 tertiary institutions were implicated in unauthorized deductions and exploitation of students.
The commission added that some institutions were allegedly deducting between ₦3,500 and ₦30,000 from students’ institutional fees funded through the NELFUND scheme.
According to the statement, preliminary findings showed that while the Federal Government allocated ₦100 billion for the programme, only ₦28.8 billion was initially disbursed, raising concerns about a missing ₦71.2 billion.
However, upon further investigation, the ICPC revealed that the total amount received by NELFUND as of March 19, 2023, was actually ₦203.8 billion.
“The breakdown showed that ₦10 billion was from the Federation Allocation Account Committee (FAAC), ₦50 billion came from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), ₦71.9 billion was from the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), and another ₦71.9 billion was also from TETFund,” the Commission said.
Out of this amount, only ₦44.2 billion has been disbursed to date, benefiting 293,178 students across 299 tertiary institutions.
