The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has contributed ₦50 billion to the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), a significant boost to the government initiative aimed at supporting indigent students in higher education.
This was announced by the EFCC on Tuesday, August 13, 2024, during a courtesy visit by the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of NELFUND, Mr. Akintunde Sawyerr, and his management team to the EFCC headquarters in Abuja.
The Nigerian Education Loan Fund, an initiative of President Bola Tinubu’s administration, is designed to provide financial aid to students in need. During the visit, Mr. Sawyerr expressed his gratitude to the EFCC for the donation, which was sourced from proceeds of crime recovered by the commission. He emphasized the importance of the fund in addressing the challenges faced by Nigeria’s youth, particularly in the education sector, and praised President Tinubu for identifying this issue and implementing a solution.
“We are aware of the funds from the proceeds of crime extended to NELFUND. We are here to express our gratitude for the gesture. We also want the EFCC to exercise oversight on what we are doing,” Sawyerr said, adding that the youth constitute a significant and often overlooked segment of the population.
In response, EFCC Chairman Mr. Ola Olukoyede commended President Tinubu for the initiative, describing it as a strategic policy against crime. He noted that financial hardship, including the inability of parents to support their children’s education, is a major factor driving young people into financial crimes.
“One of the main incentives for cybercrimes is the inability of parents to fund the education of their children. NELFUND is a policy issue against crimes. President Tinubu should be commended for initiating the Fund,” Olukoyede remarked.
The EFCC chairman urged the NELFUND management team to maintain transparency in their operations, stressing the importance of accountability in the fight against corruption. He cautioned them against any misappropriation of the funds, emphasizing the need for clean and transparent systems and processes.
“Let your hands be clean. I repeat, let your hands be clean. The work entrusted to you is going to help the EFCC fight corruption. Let your systems and processes be transparent,” Olukoyede stated.
He further tasked the NELFUND leadership to regularly report on the disbursement of funds to the EFCC to ensure that the ₦50 billion donation is not misappropriated. “I will fight to ensure that money pooled together to support NELFUND is not re-looted. We want your management to be giving reports of your disbursement to the EFCC. Don’t sign what is not clear to you. Don’t give in to any pressure. Let your staff know that there is no money to share,” he advised.
Olukoyede called on Nigerians to support the success of the NELFUND initiative and the broader efforts of the Tinubu administration.
President Tinubu had earlier signed the Student Loans (Access to Higher Education) Act (Repeal and Re-Enactment) Bill, 2024, into law on April 3, 2024. Registration for the program began in May, with 1.2 million students in federal tertiary institutions across the country enrolling in the first batch.
On Wednesday, August 7, 2024, NELFUND reported a milestone achievement, recording 9,687 student registrations and 7,975 completed loan applications within 24 hours of launching its online portal on May 25, 2024. As of August 2, 2024, an additional 2,120 students had benefited from the loan scheme, bringing the total number of beneficiaries to 22,120. The loans disbursed across various institutions amounted to ₦2.5 billion, according to NELFUND’s spokesman, Nasir Ayitogo.
