The Nigerian Education Loan Fund, NELFUND, has called on institutions in the South-East and South-South regions to intensify efforts in promoting student participation in its loan scheme, following noticeable disparities in applications from those zones compared to other parts of the country.
NELFUND Managing Director and CEO, Mr. Akintunde Sawyerr, made the call on Monday during a stakeholders’ engagement session and technical workshop on system automation and the loan application process in Abuja.
The three-day workshop, which opened with representatives from universities, is set to continue with polytechnics, monotechnics, and technical institutes today, and will round off on May 7 with colleges of education, agriculture, health, and nursing.
Sawyerr described the forum as a major step in delivering a fully digitised, transparent, and student-centered financial aid system for Nigerian higher education.
While addressing concerns over alleged disbursement of loans to graduates, he debunked the claims, explaining that all payments follow a strict verification process.
“If a person applies in their final year and their fees are paid, they are obligated to attend. But complaints about disbursements after graduation misunderstand the timeline and the safeguards we have in place,” he said.
He emphasised that the forum is also aimed at improving the platform’s responsiveness and tackling real-time challenges institutions and students face.
Chairman of the House Committee on Students Loans, Scholarships, and Higher Education Financing, Hon. Ifeoluwa Ehindero, stressed the need to modernised the system.
“We must build a transparent and efficient loan management process that delivers on time. Our legislative support is strong, but your technical insights and feedback are equally crucial to making this work,” Ehindero said.
NELFUND’s Executive Director of Operations, Mr. Iyal Mustapha, disclosed that over 576,000 students have registered on the platform, with a total application value exceeding N170 billion.
He called on institutions in the South-East and South-South to ramp up awareness campaigns to boost student applications.
Backing the initiative, National Universities Commission, NUC, representative, Lawal Mohammed Faruk, praised NELFUND as one of the Federal Government’s most impactful educational agencies.
“Our aspiration is for every student in Nigeria, public or private, to eventually benefit from this scheme,” he said.
