The Minister of State for Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, has debunked claims of fraud in the Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), assuring the public that the scheme remains transparent and credible.
Dr. Alausa made this known on Wednesday after a meeting with Vice Chancellors, officials from the National Universities Commission (NUC), the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, and the Federal Ministry of Education in Abuja.
While reacting to media reports and a recent statement by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Alausa described the allegations of financial misconduct as inaccurate and misleading.
“Let me start by saying that there is no fraud in NELFUND. ICPC reported that the information was not correct. There is no fraud in NELFUND; what we have are issues that have to do with the timeline,” he said.
The Minister’s clarification came in response to the ICPC’s announcement that it had launched an investigation into discrepancies in the disbursement of student loans under the NELFUND scheme. The commission had earlier claimed that while N100 billion was released for the program by the Federal Government, only N28.8 billion had so far been disbursed to students—leaving N71.2 billion reportedly unaccounted for.
This development stirred widespread concerns, including reactions from the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), which threatened to embark on protests over the alleged shortfall.
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Adding to the controversy, the National Orientation Agency accused some tertiary institutions of colluding with banks to delay disbursement, allegedly to profit from the situation. Reports also surfaced that some schools made unauthorized deductions from students’ fees, ranging between N3,500 and N30,000—claims that have drawn public outrage.
Responding to these concerns, the ICPC through its spokesperson, Demola Bakare, stated last Thursday that its Special Task Force had commenced investigations immediately after receiving the allegations.
Despite the concerns, the Minister emphasized that what existed were administrative challenges, not fraud, and assured that all issues relating to the scheme’s timeline were being resolved.
