The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has officially confirmed the receipt of N50 billion, which was recovered by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) as proceeds from criminal activities to finance student loan scheme.
In a statement from NELFUND’s Head of Corporate Communications, Oseyemi Oluwatuyi, the loan fund expressed its satisfaction upon receiving an additional N50 billion from the anti-graft agency.
Oluwatuyi said that the release of these funds followed a directive from President Bola Tinubu, given in his speech on August 4, 2024, instructing the EFCC to transfer the recovered funds to NELFUND in order to further strengthen the student loan programme.
What NELFUND is saying
The statement released on Friday read in part:
“The Management of Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), under the leadership of its Managing Director/CEO, Mr Akintunde Sawyerr has expressed its pleasure as it receives an additional N50 billion from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
“The release follows the directive of President Bola Tinubu in his speech on 4th August, 2024, directing the EFCC to transfer the funds to NELFUND to further boost the student loan program.
“This significant injection of funds represents a major milestone in the Administration’s commitment to bolstering access to education by providing financial support to students across Nigeria.
The fund extends Its deepest appreciation to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for his unwavering dedication to the education sector and his continued efforts to support the most vulnerable segments of the population,” he said.
Backstory
Nairametrics earlier reported that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) released the sum of N50 billion to the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) from recovered assets to support the student loan scheme.
The anti-graft agency announced this in a press statement, following a visit by NELFUND’s head, Akinwunmi Sawyerr, to the EFCC headquarters.
According to the statement, the chairman of EFCC, Ola Olukoyede, lauded the student loan programme, describing it as a policy issue to tackle corruption.
Olukoyede also mentioned that the inability of many parents to fund the education of their children had always been a predisposing factor of corruption, making students vulnerable to all forms of economic and financial crimes.
“One of the main incentives for cybercrimes is the inability of parents to fund the education of their children. NELFUND is a policy issue against crimes. President Tinubu should be commended for initiating the Fund”, he said.
What you should know
The revised Student Loan Act of 2024 was established to ensure that education becomes more accessible to all Nigerian students, irrespective of their financial circumstances.
This legislation is designed to eliminate the financial obstacles that often hinder students from pursuing higher education.
The Act mandates that NELFUND will be financed through multiple channels, including a small percentage of taxes and duties collected by key government agencies such as the Federal Inland Revenue Service, the Nigerian Immigration Service, and the Nigerian Customs Service.
Furthermore, the fund will benefit from profits derived from the government’s natural resource activities, the issuance of education bonds, and contributions from individuals and organizations.
