The Nigerian Education Loan Fund has released ₦116 billion to support students across the country by paying their school charges and upkeep allowances.
The Fund’s Managing Director, Akintunde Sawyerr, revealed this during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja.
Sawyerr noted that this development marks a significant step in the federal government’s effort to ensure accessible and inclusive higher education.
He explained that ₦65 billion of the total amount has been transferred directly to 239 public tertiary institutions—including universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education—on behalf of students whose loan requests were approved.
He stated that an additional N51 billion was also disbursed as monthly upkeep allowances directly to the beneficiaries.
Providing updates on the progress of the scheme, the NELFUND boss stated that the Fund has received a total of 1,067,000 loan applications, out of which 624,000 students have benefited so far.
“We have 1,067,000 loan applications.
“We have been able to pay fees and upkeep for 624,000 students in 239 institutions – government-owned universities, polytechnics, colleges of education.
“The 239 institutions in these categories have been paid by us. We have disbursed so far, N65 billion in institutional fees.
“We have paid out N51 billion as monthly upkeep. It is a lot of money and a lot of people have received the upkeep.
“In total, we have disbursed N116 billion of Nigeria’s government money,” he said.
He added that NELFUND had continued to record high engagement of students’ applications on a daily basis.
According to Sawyer, the education loan scheme is one of the flagship social investment initiatives of the Tinubu administration.
He said it is designed to remove financial barriers for students in tertiary institutions, ensuring that no Nigerian is denied education due to a lack of funds.
With the growing number of applicants and the volume of funds disbursed, the NELFUND boss reaffirmed commitment to transparency and efficiency in managing the scheme.
