Diversion of Students’ Loans: NELFUND Counters ICPC

The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has risen in counter of the alleged diversion of billions of naira of Students’ Loans credited to it.

The fund described such reports as not only inaccurate, misleading, and dangerously speculative, but  grossly irresponsible, and deeply damaging to the integrity of the fund.

The Eagle reports that the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) said it had launched investigations into alleged discrepancies surrounding the disbursement of student loans by the NELFUND.

ICPC stated on Thursday, that the Chief Executive Officer of NELFUND, Akintunde Sawyerr, officials of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and other concerned parties, have been invited for a hearing amid concerns over an unaccounted sum of N71.2 billion.

Rising to a counter, NELFUND, NELFUND in a statement by its Director of Strategic Communications, Oseyemi Oluwatuyi, stated:

“This is a coordinated distortion of facts that undermines public trust, weaponises misinformation, and threatens the credibility of a national intervention still in its infancy,” Oluwatuyi said in the statement.

According to him, no funds have been mismanaged; institutional fees are paid directly to verified institutions while upkeep allowances are disbursed to verified bank accounts of eligible students.

“The figures and funding amounts currently being misrepresented in the public are drawn from entirely different education financing interventions predating NELFUND’s operational commencement.

“They bear no relevance to the current student loan scheme and should not be falsely attributed to this institution,” the statement added.

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Stating its commitment to transparency and cooperation with oversight committees, including the ICPC, the manager of the Students’ Loans Scheme

“NELFUND operates a zero human interface, fully automated loan system that eliminates opportunities for financial misconduct. Every application and disbursement is digitally tracked, time-stamped, and verifiable.

“Our commitment to transparency and cooperation with oversight agencies, including the ICPC, is total and unwavering. “We have complied fully with every request for information and will continue to uphold the highest standards of public accountability,” it added.