It is deeply shameful and disturbing that the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) programme meant to help struggling students access education, is now caught in a web of corruption and exploitation.
Development Diaries reports that the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) recently began investigating the management of NELFUND.
NELFUND is the student loan initiative set up by President Bola Tinubu, which caters to tuition fees and monthly upkeep allowances for students in public higher educational institutions in Nigeria.
It is understood that the Director-General (DG) of the National Orientation Agency, Lanre Issa-Onilu, raised an alarm some weeks ago that the universities were trying to sabotage the Tinubu-led government on the students’ loan scheme, hence the probe by the ICPC.
According to reports, some students experienced delays in the disbursement of funds, even after being approved.
There have also been reports of discrepancies between the amounts given out and the actual school fees, which makes it hard to know what the obligations are for repayment.
As it stands, the NELFUND, which should represent hope for thousands of young Nigerians, has instead become another example of poor accountability, weak systems, and greed by public institutions.
According to ICPC, institutions were alleged to have made unauthorised deductions ranging from N3,500 to N30,000 from each student’s fees received through the loan fund.
The agency also revealed that only N28.8 billion was disbursed to students in various tertiary institutions instead of N100 billion released to the schools.
The fact that some tertiary institutions could collect money from students even after receiving loan payments on their behalf shows a disturbing level of dishonesty.
Furthermore, the discovery that only N28.8 billion out of N100 billion was disbursed to students is not just a financial irregularity, it is outright theft.
That over N71 billion remains unaccounted for suggests that individuals and institutions have diverted money meant to ease the burden of education for poor families.
Apart from mismanagement, it is a betrayal of public trust and an attack on the future of Nigerian youth. It is made worse by reports that some institutions also charged students additional fees before giving them access to the loans.
This level of corruption also exposes the failure of government oversight. A scheme of this importance should have had strict checks and balances in place from the beginning.
But instead, both NELFUND and the institutions have handled the process with alarming carelessness. Students, who should be focused on their education, are now victims of a scheme that promised support but delivered frustration and financial pressure.
Civil society organisations like Resource Centre for Human Rights and Civic Education (CHRICED) and ActionAid are right to raise alarm. Their claims that this is part of a wider pattern under the current administration must not be ignored.
It shows that beyond fixing this particular scandal, there is a need to completely rethink how social intervention schemes are managed in Nigeria. Public resources cannot continue to be wasted or stolen while the people they are meant to serve suffer.
Development Diaries calls on the ICPC, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), and President Tinubu to go beyond promises and take firm, public action.
Investigations must be swift and transparent. All individuals and institutions found guilty must face the law.
We call on the Managing Director/CEO of NELFUND, Akintunde Sawyerr to ensure the fund publishes clear records of disbursement, while schools must be made to refund wrongly collected fees.
This is the only way to restore confidence in the student loan scheme and prove that government resources can still be used to serve the people.
Photo source: NELFUND
