NELFUND Denies Missing Funds: “Every Student Loan Naira Is Traceable”

By Saheed Olatunji, Reporter

Akintunde Sawyerr, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), has dismissed allegations of financial misappropriation against the agency’s management

Sawyerr stated on national television yesterday that the funds for student loans were managed and distributed with complete transparency.

Reacting to concerns regarding operational transparency and accountability, he clarified that NELFUND’s electronic disbursement architecture enables real-time tracking of funds.

The system, according to him, monitors the movement of money from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) directly to students and beneficiary institutions.

“There is no evidence of any financial misappropriation by NELFUND. The reality of it is that for people to take a loan, there has to be some capital they can draw on,” Sawyerr added.

He linked the government’s funding of NELFUND to the redirection of resources towards welfare programmes following the removal of fuel subsidy.

The NELFUND boss cited the recent disbursement of more than N1 billion to the University of Ibadan as an example of the transparency of the system.

According to him, institutional fees are transferred directly to the accounts of beneficiary institutions, while students’ upkeep allowances are paid directly into their personal bank accounts.

He said: “The University of Ibadan students, before NELFUND, probably had a very high dropout rate because they just didn’t have access to capital to go to school.

“Now, the President introduced NELFUND; we paid, I believe, over a billion naira to the University of Ibadan recently. And those funds are transferred directly to the institution. So, where is the opacity in that?”

“The transfers of money are done electronically. It’s entirely traceable.

“The money leaves the Central Bank of Nigeria and goes either to the institution, the University of Ibadan, or in the case of upkeep, goes directly to the students in their bank accounts.’’

Sawyerr described allegations that NELFUND’s financial operations were opaque as misleading but promised that he would examine the research or evidence behind such claims.

“It sounds a little bit like mischief to me. But again, I’d need to interrogate this research that was done,” he said.

The NELFUND chief also defended the integrity of the agency’s student selection process, insisting that the electronic application system was designed to eliminate favouritism, ethnic considerations and the influence of personal connections.

He said applicants are assessed against established eligibility requirements, including possession of a National Identification Number (NIN), Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) registration details, admission and matriculation or registration numbers and a bank account.

“We receive applications electronically. The system doesn’t recognise whether you’re male, female, whether you’re Igbo, Hausa, Yoruba, Fulani, Ibibio, or Ogoja,” he said.

Sawyerr reiterated that applicants are not required to have prior relationships with NELFUND officials to qualify for the loan.