JUST IN: “Very disturbing and extremely concerning" - Education Minister summons VCs over illegal deductions from students loan

The statement signed by the ministry of education, director of press, Boriowo Folasade partly read, "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 in the education sector."

Recall, that reports from the media alleged that these institutions were said to have made unauthorized deductions ranging from N3,500 to N30,000 from each student’s institutional fees received through the loan fund.

Here is the extracted full text of the article titled "NELFund denies alleged corruption, misappropriation of student loan funds" published by TheCable:

...NELFund denies alleged corruption, misappropriation of student loan funds

The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFund) has refuted allegations of misappropriation and mismanagement of student loan funds.

In a statement on Thursday, Oseyemi Oluwatuyi, the fund’s director of strategic communications, said some media reports are circulating “unverified, context-free, and inflammatory” claims suggesting that it mismanaged student loan monies.

Oluwatuyi said these allegations are “false, grossly irresponsible, and damaging” to the integrity of the scheme.

TheCable had earlier reported that the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) had commenced an investigation into alleged discrepancies in the disbursement of student loan funds.

A report had claimed that 51 tertiary institutions were involved in illegal deductions and exploitation related to the NELFund scheme.

The ICPC stated that of the N100 billion released by the federal government reportedly for the student loan scheme, only N28.8 billion had been disbursed to students at the time of the report, leaving about N71.2 billion unaccounted for.

It noted that its special task force had invited key stakeholders for questioning, including the director general of the budget office, the accountant general of the federation, and officials of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Akintunde Sawyerr, NELFund’s managing director, was also invited to provide relevant documentation.

The ICPC added that N203.8 billion had been received by NELFund as of March 19, 2024, from multiple channels. These include allocations from the Federation Allocation Account Committee (FAAC), the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), and the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund).

Of that amount, ICPC said N44.2 billion had been disbursed to 299 beneficiary institutions, covering 293,178 students.

Oluwatuyi emphasized that no funds had been stolen under the current student loan scheme, which officially launched its application portal in 2024.

> “All institutional fees are paid directly to verified institutions, while upkeep allowances go into the verified bank accounts of eligible students,” she said.

“The reports circulating in the public space are based on outdated figures and previous interventions that predate our operations.”

She added that NELFund operates an automated loan system to eliminate the possibility of financial misconduct.

 “Every application and disbursement is digitally tracked, time-stamped, and verifiable.”