The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has injected a substantial N50 billion into the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), a crucial initiative designed to provide financial assistance for indigent students across Nigeria.
This development was disclosed by the anti-graft agency on Tuesday during a courtesy visit by the Fund’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Akintunde Sawyerr, to the EFCC headquarters in Abuja.
During the visit, Mr. Sawyerr expressed his gratitude to the EFCC for the significant financial boost to NELFUND, which he revealed was sourced from proceeds of crime recovered by the commission. He emphasized the importance of the Fund, an initiative of the President Bola Tinubu-led administration, in addressing the challenges faced by the youth in Nigeria’s education sector.
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“We are aware of the funds from the proceeds of crime extended to NELFUND. We are here to express our gratitude for the gesture. We also want the EFCC to exercise oversight over what we are doing,” Sawyerr stated.
He further noted that the youth, who make up the most populous and often neglected segment of the population, are central to the nation’s future. “President Tinubu identified this as a major problem and put in place a major solution to address the issue,” he added.
In his remarks, EFCC Chairman, Mr. Ola Olukoyede, commended the President for the initiative, describing it as a “policy issue against crimes.” He highlighted the lack of educational support for children as a significant factor contributing to their involvement in financial crimes. “One of the main incentives for cybercrime is the inability of parents to fund the education of their children. NELFUND is a policy issue against crimes. President Tinubu should be commended for initiating the fund,” Olukoyede remarked.
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The EFCC Chairman urged the NELFUND management to maintain transparency in their operations, stressing that this would be crucial in the fight against corruption. “Let your hands be clean. The work entrusted to you is going to help the EFCC fight corruption. Let your systems and processes be transparent,” he advised.
Olukoyede also emphasized the need for regular reporting on the disbursement of the funds to the EFCC, ensuring that the N50 billion donation is not misappropriated. “I will fight to ensure that money pooled together to support NELFUND is not re-looted. We want your management to be giving reports of your disbursement to the EFCC,” he stressed.
On April 3, 2024, President Tinubu signed the Student Loans (Access to Higher Education) Act (Repeal and Re-Enactment) Bill, 2024, into law, marking a significant step towards making higher education accessible to more Nigerians. The program’s registration began in May, with 1.2 million students in federal tertiary institutions across the country forming the first batch.
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NELFUND has seen impressive engagement, with 9,687 student registrations and 7,975 completed loan applications recorded within 24 hours on August 7, 2024. As of August 2, 2024, 22,120 students had benefited from the scheme, with loans totaling N2.5 billion disbursed across various institutions, according to NELFUND’s spokesperson, Nasir Ayitogo.
The EFCC’s financial support is expected to further empower the NELFUND initiative, providing much-needed assistance to indigent students and strengthening the fight against financial crimes in Nigeria.
