The National Orientation Agency (NOA), through its community workers, said some tertiary schools are suspected of working with banks to cheat students who should be getting loans.
Lanre Issa-Onilu, the head of the NOA, revealed these findings after meeting with Akintunde Sawyerr, who runs the National Student Loan Fund (NELFund).
In a statement on Sunday, Issa-Onilu said early evidence shows that university officials are hiding important information about loan money, forcing NELFund to act quickly.
The NOA said certain schools, working together with some banks, have purposely delayed payments to students who qualified for loans so they could make money off the situation.
It said some universities aren’t telling students when NELFund has sent their loan money.
Sawyerr confirmed these problems at the meeting, saying NELFund found cases where schools received loan money but didn’t tell students or record it properly.
“We’ve found that some schools have received student loan money directly but don’t tell the affected students or record the payments in their books, causing unnecessary confusion,” Sawyerr said.
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“Hiding financial information from students is not only wrong but also breaks the rules NELFund was created to follow. We’re ready to take legal action against any school doing this.”
Issa-Onilu warned the schools and banks involved, demanding they stop these practices right away.
The NOA has also told its offices across the country to collect more information from students.
This is to help the federal government punish any schools and banks breaking the rules.
President Bola Tinubu created the student loan program in June 2023 to give students interest-free loans.
The program was supposed to start in October 2023, but was delayed multiple times until April 2024.
NELFund opened the application website in May 2024, starting with federal colleges.
Reports show that some students have waited a long time for their money, even after being approved.
This has created situations where students are close to exam deadlines or new school terms without getting their loans.
There have also been problems with the loan amounts not matching actual school fees, causing confusion about how much students will need to pay back.
NELFund previously threatened to sue schools that are withholding information about loan payments from students.
