NELFUND loans to students hit N77bn in one year

The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has revealed that it has disbursed over N77 billion loans to no fewer than 396,252 students across the country in the last 12 months of operation.

The Fund noted that the loans are interest-free to all the beneficiaries.

Managing Director and Chief Executive of NELFund, Mr Akintunde Sawyerr, disclosed this at a hybrid media engagement with journalists as part of activities to commemorate the first year anniversary of the Fund.

Sawyerr noted that the total loan applications received from eligible students across 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) as of July 17, 2025 stood at 645,692 while up to 94 per cent of the applications had been processed.

He explained further that of the total loans disbursed, N41.7 billion was paid directly to 210 tertiary institutions on behalf of beneficiaries as their obligatory fees, while N35.3 billion was disbursed as their upkeep allowances.

He noted that although, a total of 675,212 students were registered on the NELFUND digital portal so far with 645,692 of them submitted formal applications, only 324,202 of them were successful so far.

He noted that the loans were provided through a fully-digitised platform built to global standards so as to ensure seamless processing and transparency, tracking and verification, adding that irregular data supply or delay application was the sole cause of the yet-to-be-successful applicants.

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Sawyerr, while acknowledging some constraints faced by the Fund, especially as regards delay in payment, accused some tertiary institution management of failing in data integrity, delays in verification processes.

He said it was unfortunate that there are lots of misinformation about the loans scheme, causing many students especially in the southern part of the country to have apathy in accessing the loans.

He said, “Upon this, the Fund has remained steadfast and will continue to improve its systems, effectively engage the stakeholders and also swiftly address concerns or grievances that may arise.”

He urged the students to explore the loans opportunity, emphasising that it is not only interest-free but repayment is with ease and at a convenient time.

According to him, the beneficiary of the loan will only pay back the exact amount borrowed by installment, commencing after completion of the one-year mandatory National Youth Service Corps Scheme (NYSC) and gainfully employed.

“It means if you’re a beneficiary, and you don’t have a job after NYSC programme, you won’t pay and when you start repayment, it will be only 10 per cent of your monthly income automatically deducted by your employer that will be remitted to NELFUND purse following confirmation through the fund’s employment register.

Sawyerr, however, commended President Bola Tinubu for coming up with the loan scheme, saying it will not only lead to increase enrolment and retention but will also enhance students’ learning outcomes.