The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has strongly rejected recent claims of financial mismanagement in its student loan program, calling the accusations “false and harmful to the credibility” of the institution.
In a statement released on Thursday, NELFUND’s Director of Strategic Communications, Oseyemi Oluwatuyi, responded to circulating reports suggesting that funds allocated for the student loan scheme had been misappropriated. The Fund described these reports as “reckless,” emphasizing that they were baseless and potentially damaging to the trust placed in the national intervention initiative.
This statement comes after the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) revealed on Thursday that it had uncovered billions of naira intended for the student loan scheme. NELFUND, however, clarified that these figures pertained to other, unrelated educational financing programs from before the current scheme’s establishment, which had no bearing on its operations.
The Fund reiterated that there had been no mismanagement of funds. Institutional fees, it explained, are paid directly to accredited educational institutions, while student upkeep allowances are transferred to verified bank accounts of eligible applicants.
“The misinformation circulating does not reflect the actual figures and funding associated with NELFUND’s loan program,” Oluwatuyi stated. “The amounts being misrepresented are linked to prior educational financing projects and should not be wrongly attributed to us.”
NELFUND assured the public of its commitment to transparency and confirmed that its operations adhere to the highest standards of accountability. The Fund operates a fully automated loan disbursement system, where every transaction is digitally tracked and verifiable.
“We have maintained complete cooperation with regulatory bodies, including the ICPC, and remain dedicated to ensuring transparency in all our dealings,” the statement concluded.
