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The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has dismissed as fake a viral social media document claiming that the Federal Government had suspended the payment of upkeep allowances to beneficiaries of the Student Loan Scheme for the 2025/2026 academic session.
The clarification comes amid growing concerns from student beneficiaries, many of whom have complained in recent weeks about delays in receiving their monthly upkeep stipends, fueling speculation that the payments had been halted.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria, NELFUND, in a statement issued on Saturday, said the document, dated July 10 and attributed to its Director of Strategic Communications, Mrs. Oseyemi Oluwatuyi, did not originate from the Fund and should be disregarded.
What the agency is saying
The agency said neither the Federal Government nor NELFUND had approved or announced the suspension of upkeep allowance payments to eligible beneficiaries.
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- “The document being circulated is fake and did not emanate from NELFUND. Beneficiaries and the general public should disregard the misinformation and rely only on NELFUND’s official communication channels for authentic updates,” it added.
The fake notice had claimed that funds meant for the payment of upkeep allowances for May, June and subsequent months had not been released, describing the suspension as temporary and promising that disbursements would resume once the outstanding allocations were received.
However, NELFUND said both student loan and upkeep allowance disbursements are continuing in line with its mandate to provide financial support to eligible students in public tertiary institutions across the country.
The Fund also warned that fabricated publications and AI-generated content are increasingly being deployed to spread misinformation and undermine public confidence in the student loan programme.
It advised students, parents, tertiary institutions and members of the public to verify information relating to the scheme through its official communication channels before sharing or acting on such information.
Get up to speed
Nairametrics earlier reported that many beneficiaries of the NELFUND scheme have raised concerns over delays in receiving the approved monthly upkeep allowance, a stipend designed to support students with their day-to-day expenses.
The monthly upkeep allowance is optional and is only provided to students who specifically apply for it alongside the institutional (tuition) loan during the registration process.
Reacting to a Nairametrics report on NELFUND’s plans to replace direct school payments with a digital token system, several affected students shared their frustrations directly.
- “When will we, the students, start to receive upkeep allowance for May and June? A lot of Nigerian students need this money, most especially me, now. Students are going for SIWES, and they need this money to be able to attend this compulsory student industrial scheme,” said Favour Ojochenemi.
A parent, Modupeola Adeola Idowu, who identified herself as a widow, also lamented about the non-payment of the allowance, while expressing fears that the tuition payment might also be stopped.
- “My child has not received the monthly upkeep since May. For the last two months, it has affected us badly,” she lamented.
- “For the past three months we haven’t received our upkeep and everyone knows this is a loan. So how are we going to pay for what we haven’t been given?” said Alex Bless, calling on NELFUND’s president to address the complaint.
What you should know
Earlier this month, Nairametrics reported that NELFUND announced plans to transition from its current direct tuition payment model to a digital token-based payment system.
The proposed system is designed to reduce cases of double payments, strengthen transparency, and improve efficiency in the management of student loan disbursements.
According to NELFUND Managing Director, Akintunde Sawyerr, the digital token system will allow students to have more control over the timing of their tuition payments while ensuring that loan funds are used strictly for educational expenses.
