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Akintunde Sawyerr, the managing director of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), has revealed that the agency has disbursed N116 billion in tuition fees and student upkeep allowances across public tertiary institutions since the scheme began.
Sawyerr made this known in Abuja during an interview with journalists, when he emphasised that disbursement is a milestone in the federal government’s commitment to affordable and inclusive tertiary education.
The NELFUND’s managing director further explained that the sum of N65 billion has been paid directly to 239 public tertiary institutions, including universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education, for the students whose loan applications were approved.
Besides, Sawyerr said that an additional N51 billion was also disbursed as monthly upkeep allowances directly to the beneficiaries.
“We have 1,067,000 loan applications. We have been able to pay fees and upkeep for 624,000 students in 239 institutions, government-owned universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education.
We have paid the 239 institutions in these categories. We have disbursed so far, N65 billion in institutional fees, and N51 billion as monthly upkeep.
“It is a lot of money and a lot of people have received the upkeep. In total, we have disbursed N116 billion of the federal government money,” he emphasised.
Moreover, he said that the agency has received a total of 1,067,000 loan applications, out of which 624,000 students have benefited so far.
In addition, Sawyerr said that NELFUND had continued to record high engagement of students’ applications daily.
He noted that the loan scheme is one of the flagship social investment initiatives of the President Bola Tinubu administration, and that it is designed to remove financial barriers for students in tertiary institutions, ensuring that no Nigerian is denied education due to a lack of funds.
