NELFUND Disburses Over ₦53 Billion in Student Loans as Beneficiaries Seek Unpaid Allowances

NELFUND Disburses Over ₦53 Billion in Student Loans as Beneficiaries Seek Unpaid Allowances

The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has disbursed more than ₦53 billion to support students across the country, covering both upkeep allowances and institutional fees.

A detailed breakdown shows that ₦23,173,240,000.00 was paid as upkeep allowance, while ₦29,863,433,649.40 went to institutional fees—bringing the total disbursement to ₦53,036,673,649.40.

The figures were made available via the agency’s official X handle (formerly Twitter) as of Thursday.

According to NELFUND, 561,174 students have registered for the loan scheme, with 497,717 already submitting applications. The agency said that 88 percent of registered students have completed the loan application process.

In its future projection, NELFUND plans to disburse ₦112,153,680,000 as upkeep allowance and ₦52,873,195,826 for institutional fees, totalling approximately ₦165 billion.

Despite the significant funding already provided, some beneficiaries have raised concerns about delayed payments.

Several students who updated or changed their bank account details have complained that they have not received their upkeep allowance in nearly eight months.

Responding to these concerns, Director of Strategic Communications at NELFUND, Oseyemi Oluwatuyi, said:

“The issue with that is a bit complex. It’s a security issue. Anybody can come and change account details.

What we try to do is do a lot of checks to be sure it’s safe. This is being done for the sake of the students themselves. But it will be resolved soon.”

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The student loan scheme, one of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s flagship initiatives, was officially launched on July 17, 2024, following the signing of the bill into law on April 3, 2023.

According to the law, loan repayment is scheduled to commence two years after a beneficiary completes the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) programme.

The programme is funded through one percent of the total annual revenue collected by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), as mandated by the legislation.