Amid growing public concern, the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, has firmly denied allegations of fraud in the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), assuring that no financial irregularities have been discovered.
His comments came on Wednesday following a meeting with Vice Chancellors, officials from the National Universities Commission (NUC), NELFUND representatives, and staff of the Federal Ministry of Education. Alausa clarified that recent claims made by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) had been misinterpreted.
“There is no fraud in NELFUND. The ICPC has since clarified that their earlier statement was inaccurate. The issue is not fraud but rather delays in disbursement,” he explained.
Earlier, the ICPC had announced an investigation into discrepancies in the student loan scheme. The commission reported that although N100 billion was allocated by the Federal Government, only N28.8 billion had reached beneficiaries, prompting concerns over a missing N71.2 billion.
The situation stirred reactions from students and stakeholders. The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) threatened to stage mass protests, while the National Orientation Agency alleged that some universities and banks were stalling disbursements to misuse the funds.
Reports also emerged of unauthorized deductions—ranging from N3,500 to N30,000—by some institutions from students’ accounts post-disbursement.
In response, the ICPC launched a full investigation to determine the handling of the funds. Nevertheless, Alausa insists the integrity of NELFUND remains intact and reaffirmed the government’s commitment to transparency and accountability in education financing.
