President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has directed that liquid funds recovered by Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) be channelled to Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) to strengthen the financing of the federal government’s student loan scheme.
Gatekeepers News reports that Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, disclosed this on Wednesday while briefing State House correspondents after the Federal Executive Council meeting in Abuja.
Alausa said the President’s directive was intended to provide additional funding for NELFUND and enable the agency to meet its growing obligations to students across the country.
He clarified that the directive applies to liquid cash recovered by the EFCC and does not include seized properties or assets that have not been converted into cash.
The Federal Executive Council also approved the channelling of unclaimed dividends from the Capital Market Trust Fund and the Dormant Account Trust Fund to NELFUND.
According to the minister, the measures are expected to strengthen the financial capacity of NELFUND and expand the reach of the student loan programme.
NELFUND was established in 2024 following the enactment of the Student Loans (Access to Higher Education) Act to provide interest-free loans to eligible students in Nigerian tertiary institutions.
The fund said that, as of August 8, it had disbursed more than ₦322 billion in institutional fees and upkeep allowances to over 1.6 million students nationwide.
The latest directive builds on Tinubu’s earlier decision in 2024 to release ₦50 billion in recovered proceeds of crime to NELFUND to support the student loan scheme. EFCC had subsequently confirmed that the money was recovered crime proceeds remitted to the government and not a donation from the commission.
