President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has opened a new funding channel for the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), directing the transfer of legally cleared funds recovered by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to the student loan scheme.
The President also directed that unclaimed dividends from capital market trust funds and funds held in the dormant account trust fund be considered for transfer to NELFUND, subject to the laws governing the funds.
Minister of Education, Dr Maruf Tunji Alausa, disclosed this on Monday, saying the measures were designed to make NELFUND financially sustainable as its obligations continue to grow.
“As you heard me at the last press briefing following the last Federal Executive Council meeting, Mr President mentioned that we need to make NELFUND financially buoyant and sustainable into the future,” Alausa said.
He stressed that only EFCC-recovered funds that are free from litigation and other legal encumbrances would be eligible.
“Together with the directives by Mr President on the seized EFCC funds, which will now be directed to fund NELFUND, Mr President also directed that all unclaimed dividends from the capital market trust funds, as well as funds in the dormant account trust fund, should also be moved to support the financial sustainability of NELFUND,” he said.
Alausa said the Attorney-General of the Federation would work with the Ministers of Finance and Education and relevant agencies to establish the legal framework for implementing the directive.
“More importantly, the Attorney-General will review the Act setting up the unclaimed dividend trust fund as well as the dormant account trust fund to see how we can be legally compliant in moving those funds,” he said.
He added that amendments would be considered if required. The Minister said the new funding streams would complement NELFUND’s existing 15 per cent allocation from the development levy.
“But to summarise, NELFUND, beyond the 15 per cent allocation from the development levy, is now positioned to be financially buoyant into the near future, into the distant future and sustainably to eternity,” he said.
More than 1.2 million students are currently benefiting from NELFUND, with over ₦322 billion disbursed for institutional fees and upkeep allowances as of August 8.
