By Jane Okafor Abuja
The Federal Government has summoned Vice Chancellors of universities implicated in the disturbing allegations of corruption, diversions and unauthorised deductions rocking the less than a – year – old student loans scheme introduced by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration.
Also summoned is the Managing Director of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND).
The affected universities and NELFUND handlers were invited to an emergency meeting scheduled for May 6, 2025.
The planned meeting seeks to thoroughly investigate the matter, ensure full accountability, and reaffirm the Ministry’s zero-tolerance policy toward financial malpractice in the nation’s education sector.
Rattled Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Olatunji Alausa, described the unauthorized activities around the loan scheme as extremely concerning, vowing that the government would spare nothing in its quest to uphold transparency, protect public funds, and ensure students receive the full benefits of the initiative meant for them.
The Daily Crucible reports that the Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NELFund) has crossed the 500,000 mark in student loan applications, revealing a significant milestone, increasing demand for financial assistance to access higher education in Nigeria and a signal of hope for families across the country.
Nigerian Government enacted an initial version of its current student loan policy in June 2023 to grant interest-free loans to interested students.
The scheme was initially billed to commence in October 2023, but its implementation suffered bout of repeated deferments until a re-enactment in April 2024.
Consequently, NELFund opened the loan application portal in May 2024, where a pilot phase to serve federal tertiary institutions began.
However, not long after it commenced, Nigerian bug infestation hit the scheme as reports indicate that some students were experiencing significant delays in the disbursement of funds, even after being approved.
The development led to situations where students are nearing exam deadlines or new academic sessions without receiving their loans disbursement.
Besides, amounts disbursed were also sometimes inconsistent with actual school fees, leaving doubt and confusion about repayment obligations.
However, a federal probe in April 2025 claimed that some tertiary schools were colluding with banks to shortchange student loan applicants, forcing the latest decision to summon the indicted varsities.
Also, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has announced that its men had launched a probe in the alleged infractions in the Student Loan management.
The ICPC spokesperson, Debola Bakare, confirmed ICPC’s investigation of alleged discrepancies in the disbursement of loans to students, saying preliminary findings revealed a significant gap in the financial records of the disbursement process.
The Commission revealed that its Chairman’s Special Task Force had immediately swung into action upon receiving the report.
According to Bakare, letters of investigation and invitations were dispatched to key stakeholders, including the Director General of the Budget Office, the Accountant-General of the Federation and senior officials from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
“Additionally, the Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of NELFUND were invited to provide documentation and explanations relevant to the case,” the statement said.
He said that the Commission deemed the responses received as critically analysed while interviews were conducted with the concerned individuals.
On the strength of its investigation, ICPC revealed that the total money received by NELFUND as of March 19, 2023, was N203.8 billion.
The statement further reads: “The breakdown showed that N10 Billion was an allocation from the Federation Allocation Account Committee, N50 billion was from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, N71.9B was from the Tertiary Education Trust Fund, while another N71.9 billion was also from the same Tertiary Education Trust Fund.
“ICPC, however, found that the total amount disbursed to institutions from inception to date is about N44,200,933,649.00, while a total of 299 institutions have benefited from the funds released.
“To date, the total amount disbursed to 299 beneficiary institutions stands at approximately N44.2 billion, with 293,178 students having benefited from the fund.”
Similarly, a press statement by Director, Press and Public Relations of the Education Ministry, Boriowo Folasade, said the Federal Ministry of Education has received with deep concern a media report alleging that some Nigerian universities made unauthorised deductions from funds disbursed under the NELFUND scheme.
The Minister warned that if proven true, such actions would constitute a gross violation of public trust and a betrayal of the government’s commitment to equitable access to education.
He reaffirmed the administration’s commitment to protecting public funds and ensuring that students receive the full benefits of all government education support schemes.
“In response, the Ministry is convening an urgent meeting on May 6, 2025, with the Vice Chancellors of the affected universities and the Managing Director of NELFUND. The meeting will aim to thoroughly investigate the matter, ensure full accountability, and reaffirm the Ministry’s zero-tolerance policy toward financial malpractice i
n the education sector.“To reinforce this effort, the Ministry, in collaboration with the Athena Centre, will launch a compliance-tracking initiative and a countdown webpage to monitor institutional transparency. They will also offer technical assistance and introduce an Annual University Transparency Index to promote accountability and enhance the global relevance of Nigerian universities,” the statement said.
He added that a training programme would be organised for Bursars and ICT Heads of universities and polytechnics on the development and maintenance of an open-portal initiative.
“As part of our National Education Sector Reform Initiative (NESRI), governance remains the top pillar of our agenda,” Dr. Alausa said.
“We are committed to strengthening transparency, promoting responsible financial conduct, and ensuring that every kobo allocated for student welfare is used appropriately. Let me assure Nigerians that this matter will not be swept under the carpet. Anyone found culpable will face appropriate sanctions.”
Dr. Alausa further emphasised that President Bola Tinubu, who established NELFUND as a flagship initiative, made adequate budgetary provisions to support both students and institutions in a fair and transparent manner.
“NELFUND was created to expand students’ access to high-quality education and to support universities financially in a legal and sustainable way. Any attempt to exploit this fund is unacceptable and contradicts the President’s vision for inclusive human capital development.”
