Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, has firmly dismissed claims that ₦70 billion went missing from the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), labeling recent reports on the matter as sensationalized and misleading.
Speaking in an interview with Channels Television on Tuesday, the Minister addressed widespread concerns following a report by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), which suggested that a significant portion of the education loan fund was misappropriated.
ICPC Report Retracted, Says Minister
Dr. Alausa commended the ICPC for its subsequent retraction of the initial report, noting that there was no evidence to support the claim that ₦70 billion meant for student loans was unaccounted for.
“There’s been a lot of sensationalisation in the news on NELFUND in the last few days. The ICPC report saying almost ₦70 billion was not used to service children’s education was retracted. It wasn’t true,” he explained.
“It wasn’t a case that ₦100 billion got released to NELFUND and ₦70 billion was looted.”
Miscommunication, Not Misappropriation
The Minister attributed the misunderstanding to poor communication between universities and their students, rather than any financial impropriety.
“What happened is that fees, sometimes going into hundreds of millions of naira, get paid to the universities, but they don’t notify the students. The students are anxious, thinking their fees haven’t been paid,” he clarified.
This communication gap, he explained, has caused unnecessary panic among students and the general public.
New Guidelines for Transparency and Student Communication
To prevent future confusion, the Federal Ministry of Education is implementing new operational guidelines to ensure schools properly communicate with students when tuition is paid through the NELFUND program.
“We’ve quickly set up guidelines, which we will be discussing with the universities today. We will give timelines on when universities get NELFUND fees and the duration they need to inform students,” Alausa stated.
These guidelines are expected to enhance transparency, accountability, and student engagement within the education loan process.
NELFUND: A Legacy Program for Nigerian Students
Reaffirming the government’s commitment to accessible higher education, Dr. Alausa described NELFUND as a “legacy intervention”, which aims to support over 500,000 students across tertiary institutions in Nigeria.
He emphasized that the Ministry of Education maintains a zero-tolerance policy on corruption, and is actively working to build a robust, student-centered education financing system.
