The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has disbursed N73.1 billion in student loans to 366,247 Nigerian students since its loan opened in May 2024.
NELFUND revealed this in its Student Loan Disbursement Dashboard, covering data up to June 28, 2025.
As of June 28, 2025, NELFUND has disbursed N38.26 billion for institutional fees and N34.85 billion as upkeep allowance to student beneficiaries, bringing the total loan disbursed so far to N73,113,908,545.00.
According to the report, 366,247 students have received loans, and 206 tertiary institutions have benefited since the portal was launched on May 24, 2024.
Registration and application progress
A total of 647,269 students have registered on the NELFUND portal, with 611,018 having successfully applied for loans. This means 94% of all registrants have completed their loan application process.
From the previous day on June 27, the number of successful registrants increased by 1,316, while successful applicants grew by 1,387.
The report showed that 105% of new registrants successfully submitted loan applications, indicating an efficient and responsive loan processing system.
What you should know
In May, Nairametrics reported that NELFUND is preparing to extend its reach beyond traditional tertiary institutions to include vocational and skills‑acquisition centres across the country, with Enugu State selected as the pilot location.
- NELFUND Managing Director Akintunde Sawyerr and Executive Director of Operations Iyal Mustapha disclosed that the initiative would roll out between late June and mid‑July. They explained that once the portal opens, trainees in vocational fields such as fashion design will be able to apply online for loans that cover training costs, upkeep stipends, and starter tools, with specific centres designated by the state for effective distribution
- The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) began probing claims into alleged discrepancies amounting to N71.2 billion, including claims that only N28.8 billion of a budgeted N100 billion had reached students.
- In response, NELFUND emphatically rejected the allegations, stating that no funds have been mismanaged, stolen, or are unaccounted for under the current NELFUND student loan scheme. The agency clarified that referenced funds stemmed from prior education financing programmes, not the current loan scheme, and committed to fully cooperative transparency with oversight agencies
Meanwhile, the ICPC later clarified that no established discrepancies or diversion of funds had been confirmed to date.
Around the same time, NELFUND mandated the use of its Student Loan Access System (SLAS) to streamline data handling, improve transparency, and reduce fraud. The directive requires tertiary institutions to upload student data directly into SLAS ahead of loan disbursement, and the Fund has emphasized that better IT controls are essential for accountability.
This push for full digital integration supports government and parliamentary calls for stronger oversight in the rapidly scaling programme.
