The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has commenced the distribution of N20,000 monthly stipends to beneficiaries, with 20,371 students from six tertiary institutions successfully receiving their July payments.
This announcement was made in a statement signed by Mr. Ibom Uche, Director of Finance and Accounts at NELFUND, and shared on NELFUND’s official X (formerly Twitter) handle on Monday.
The stipends distribution follows NELFUND’s recent announcement of the ongoing disbursement of student loans, with a total allocation of N2.5 billion to various institutions nationwide.
“The Management of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) under the leadership of Mr Akintunde Sawyerr, the Managing Director has announced the successful disbursement of N20,000.00 monthly stipends for the month of July to 20,371 students from six tertiary institutions,” the statement read in part.
The statement also noted that students who have begun receiving their July stipends are those whose institutional fees have already been covered by NELFUND. The six tertiary institutions where payments have started include Bayero University Kano, Federal University Dutsin-Ma, University of Ilorin, University of Benin, University of Ibadan, and University of Maiduguri.
Furthermore, NELFUND is actively working to initiate the payment process for students from approximately 55 more tertiary institutions, the statement noted. This process is expected to be completed within the next two weeks, as the fund is dedicated to ensuring that all eligible students receive their stipends promptly.
What you should know
The revised Student Loan Act 2024 stipulates the establishment of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) to remove financial barriers and make education accessible to all Nigerian students, regardless of their economic background.
NELFUND is primarily funded by 1% of the revenues from taxes, levies, and duties collected by the Federal Inland Revenue Service, Nigerian Immigration Service, and Nigerian Customs Service. Additional funding comes from natural resource profits, education bonds, endowment funds, and donations.
The loans cover tuition, fees, and maintenance costs, with repayment starting two years after completing the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) program.
On July 7, 2024, NELFUND announced the approval of 36 state-owned universities for student loan applications. This was followed by the approval of an additional 12 state-owned tertiary institutions on July 10.
On August 2, 2024, NELFUND announced the disbursement of N2.5 billion in student loans to benefit 22,120 eligible students across various institutions. Additionally, N442 million has been allocated for students’ upkeep funds for July.
In his speech on July 4, President Bola Tinubu announced the release of N50 billion to NELFUND from proceeds recovered by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
