ICPC probes NELFUND student loan disbursement

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) says it has commenced an investigation into alleged discrepancies surrounding the disbursement of student loans by the Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NELFUND).

The ICPC said the investigation followed a recent media report alleging that no fewer than 51 tertiary institutions were implicated in illegal deductions and exploitation related to the NELFUND scheme.

The institutions were alleged to have made unauthorised deductions ranging from N3,500 to N30,000 from each student’s institutional fees received through the loan fund.

The ICPC spokesperson, Demola Bakare, in a statement issued on Thursday, May 1, 2025, said preliminary findings revealed a significant gap in the financial records of the disbursement process.

Bakare said while the federal government reportedly released N100 billion for the scheme, only N28.8 billion was disbursed to students, leaving an unaccounted sum of N71.2 billion.

Bakare said the commission’s chairman of Special Task Force immediately swung into action upon receiving the report.

He disclosed that letters of investigation and invitations were dispatched to key stakeholders, including the Director General of the Budget Office, the Accountant General of the Federation, and senior officials from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Bakare added that the Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of NELFUND were also invited to provide documentation and explanations relevant to the case.

NELFUND: No student loan funds stolen, unaccounted for

Bakare said the investigation conducted by the ICPC revealed that the total money received by NELFUND as of March 19, 2024, was N203.8 billion.

The ICPC spokesman noted: “The breakdown showed that N10 billion was an allocation from the Federation Allocation Account Committee, N50 billion was from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, N71.9 billion was from the Tertiary Education Trust Fund, while another N71.9 billion was also from the same Tertiary Education Trust Fund.

“ICPC, however, found that the total amount disbursed to institutions from inception to date is about N44,200,933,649.00, while a total of 299 institutions have benefited from the funds released.

“To date, the total amount disbursed to 299 beneficiary institutions stands at approximately N44.2 billion, with 293,178 students having benefited from the fund.

“The ICPC announced that its investigation will now extend to beneficiary institutions and individual student recipients.

“Further updates will be provided as the investigation progresses.”

The Star