President Bola Tinubu has directed that liquid funds recovered by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) be channelled to the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) to strengthen its capacity to meet the growing demand for student loans.
The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, disclosed this on Wednesday while briefing State House correspondents after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting.
Alausa said FEC had also approved a presidential directive for unclaimed dividends from the Capital Market Trust Fund and the Dormant Account Trust Fund to be channelled to NELFUND.
He said the measures were intended to provide NELFUND with additional and sustainable funding as the number of Nigerian students seeking financial assistance for their education continues to increase.
“The President, in his benevolence, has now directed that all funds recovered by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission be diverted to NELFUND to continue to support its funding,” Alausa said.
The minister, however, clarified that the directive applied to liquid funds and did not include seized properties or assets recovered by the EFCC.
“Note, and the President was very clear, not seized properties, or recovered looted funds, but liquid funds from the EFCC will now be transferred to NELFUND,” he said.
Alausa also said FEC had approved the transfer of unclaimed dividends from the Capital Market Trust Fund and the Dormant Account Trust Fund to NELFUND.
According to him, the additional resources would help the education loan fund remain financially buoyant enough to meet its expanding obligations to Nigerian students.
The development comes as NELFUND continues to implement the Federal Government’s student loan scheme, which was established to provide financial assistance to eligible Nigerian students pursuing tertiary education.
The scheme is designed to address one of the major barriers to access to higher education by providing students with funding for tuition and other approved educational expenses, subject to the applicable guidelines.
NELFUND was established under the Student Loans (Access to Higher Education) Act, 2023, signed into law under the Tinubu administration. The law was subsequently amended in 2024 to expand the scope and operational framework of the student loan scheme.
The scheme forms part of the Federal Government’s broader efforts to improve access to tertiary education and reduce the financial burden on students and their families.
Since the commencement of the scheme, NELFUND has been responsible for processing applications, disbursing approved loans and coordinating the financial support provided to eligible students in tertiary institutions across the country.
The expansion of the programme has, however, increased the fund’s financial obligations, making the availability of sustainable funding critical to its continued operation.
Alausa said the new funding arrangements were consistent with President Tinubu’s commitment to ensuring that financial constraints did not prevent Nigerian students from accessing education.
He said the funds to be channelled to NELFUND would include unencumbered monies that were not subject to legal disputes or other claims.
The minister’s clarification means that the directive is focused on funds that are legally available for transfer rather than properties or assets whose ownership or disposition may still be subject to court proceedings.
The new funding sources are expected to provide NELFUND with additional resources to support its obligations as more students access the Federal Government’s education loan programme.
Alausa said the initiative was also in line with the administration’s broader education reform agenda, which seeks to expand access, improve the quality of education and create greater opportunities for Nigerian students.
The Federal Government has continued to position the student loan scheme as a key component of its strategy for making higher education more accessible while shifting from a system in which students and their families bear much of the immediate financial burden of tertiary education.
With the latest directive, the administration is seeking to broaden the pool of resources available to NELFUND beyond conventional government funding, using liquid recoveries and unclaimed financial assets as additional sources of support for student financing.
