The Managing Director of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, Akintunde Sawyerr, says demand for the federal student loan scheme has far outstripped expectations, describing it as a lifeline for students who would otherwise struggle to stay in school.
Speaking on Channels Television's Sunday Politics programme, Sawyerr said many applicants had been barely able to hold on to their places in tertiary institutions before the scheme launched. He said NELFUND is now studying the disbursement figures and the scale of demand to better plan for the fund's financial requirements going forward.
The agency has so far paid out N162 billion in upkeep allowances to students, and Sawyerr said the scheme was beginning to shape competition among institutions, as students gain more flexibility to choose where they study.
Sawyerr also rejected claims that the fund favours children of All Progressives Congress members, calling the allegation "completely ridiculous." He said the scheme was designed without bias toward political affiliation, and that beneficiaries are selected strictly against established eligibility criteria, using information gathered through the fund's standard verification process.
Citing internal research, Sawyerr said the scheme had helped cut student dropout rates by 20 percent. On repayment, he said the structure was built around beneficiaries' ability to pay rather than imposing an undue burden, and that tracing beneficiaries would get easier as the repayment system matures. He also addressed President Bola Tinubu's announcement that funds recovered by the EFCC would support the scheme, saying NELFUND had not yet received any such funds.
The student loan scheme was established under the Student Loans Act, signed into law by Tinubu in April 2024. It provides interest-free loans to eligible students in public tertiary institutions, covering approved institutional charges and upkeep allowances, with repayment beginning two years after a beneficiary completes the National Youth Service Corps programme.
