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

Sawyerr told a national television yesterday that the agency had nothing to hide regarding the management and distribution of student loan funds.

He  spoke  against the backdrop of concerns over the transparency and accountability of the agency’s operations.

According to him, the electronic nature of NELFUND’s disbursement system makes it possible to track the movement of funds from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to beneficiary institutions and students.

  “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 stressed that applicants did not need to know or have connections with NELFUND officials before accessing the scheme.

The PBAT Door-to-Door Movement 2027 has criticised  former Vice President Atiku Abubakar for criticising President Bola Ahmed Tinubu over his ongoing vacation abroad.

It  described Atiku’s remark  as an attempt to turn a routine presidential vacation into a 

 political controversy.

The movement explained that the vacation was a normal part of the responsibilities of leaders across the world, stressing that the President’s temporary absence from the country does not amount to a leadership vacuum.

It  said in a statement  by its National Coordinator,  Sunday   Asuku, that    Atiku should concentrate on presenting his political programme to Nigerians ahead of the 2027 general election  instead of attacking the President over his vacation. 

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The group described the former vice-president  as a “serial presidential contestant without direction ” who, after many  attempts to occupy the Presidency since 1993, should tell Nigerians  his  roadmap  for the country.

It also accused the former Vice President of inconsistency over petrol subsidy, recalling that he promised  in 2023   to remove fuel subsidy .

The group said his new position on the policy showed an attempt to exploit the hardship being experienced by Nigerians for political advantage.

The statement reads in part: “After contesting for the presidency repeatedly since 1993, Atiku should be telling Nigerians what he intends to do differently, rather than spending his time attacking President Tinubu. 

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“In 2023, he told Nigerians he would remove fuel subsidy. Today, he is talking about bringing it back. Nigerians deserve to know whether this is a genuine policy position or simply an attempt to deceive people into believing that he suddenly sympathises with them.”