NELFUND Hails Tinubu Over Fresh Funding for Student Loan Scheme

The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for directing eligible funds recovered by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to the Fund to support its growing student loan obligations.

NELFUND also welcomed the Federal Executive Council’s approval for unclaimed dividends from the Capital Market Trust Fund and the Dormant Account Trust Fund to be channelled to the student loan scheme.

The development comes as NELFUND’s student loan programme continues to expand, with the Fund disbursing more than ₦322 billion to beneficiaries from over 1.6 million loan applications as of August 2026.

In a statement signed by its Director of Strategic Communications, Mrs Oseyemi Oluwatuyi, the Fund said the latest interventions would strengthen the sustainability of student financing in Nigeria.

READ ALSO: NELFUND Uptake Higher In North Than South — Oyedele

The Chairman of the NELFUND Board, Jim Ovia, also commended Tinubu for his continued support and confidence in the Fund.

Ovia said the development further demonstrated the administration’s commitment to expanding access to higher education and ensuring that financial constraints do not prevent eligible Nigerians from pursuing their studies.

The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of NELFUND, Akintunde Sawyerr, also thanked the President for what he described as a significant intervention in the Federal Government’s efforts to remove financial barriers to higher education.

“NELFUND deeply appreciates His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, for this significant intervention and for his unwavering commitment to ensuring that no Nigerian student is denied access to higher education because of financial constraints,” Sawyerr said.

He said the decision demonstrated Tinubu’s belief in the transformative power of education and would provide greater confidence in efforts to establish a sustainable student financing system.

“This decision demonstrates Mr. President’s strong belief in the transformative power of education and provides further confidence in our collective efforts to build a sustainable student financing system for Nigerian students,” he said.

Sawyerr assured the President that the Fund would continue to ensure that resources entrusted to it were deployed responsibly and transparently.

“On behalf of the Executive Management, staff of NELFUND, and millions of Nigerian students, we thank Mr. President for this confidence and assure him that we will continue to deploy every resource entrusted to the Fund responsibly, transparently and in the best interest of Nigerian students,” he said.

NELFUND said the latest funding measures would further strengthen the Federal Government’s commitment to sustainable education financing and enable the Fund to extend its reach to more eligible Nigerian students.