The Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has again doubled down on its earlier claim against allegations of fraud leveled against the scheme, insisting no fund from the student loan scheme was stolen or misappropriated.
The Managing Director of NELFUND, Akintunde Sawyerr, who spoke during an interview with Channels TV on Sunday, maintained that the agency has been disbursing student loans with fairness.
NELFUND, an intervention agency set up by the Federal Government, came under heavy scrutiny after the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), in a statement issued last Thursday, announced an investigation into allegations of student loan fraud.
The ICPC had raised concerns about a N71.2 billion discrepancy.
The statement alleged significant financial irregularities in NELFUND’s student loan program, claiming that ₦71.2 billion of the ₦203.8 billion allocated remained unaccounted for.
Also, the statement cited unauthorized deductions by 51 tertiary institutions ranging from ₦3,500 to ₦30,000 per student, triggering a media frenzy and public outcry.
However, another statement issued last Thursday walked back on its earlier statement, suggesting discrepancies in the NELFUND student loan disbursements.
The ICPC claimed that no fraud or mismanagement has been found in the administration of the student loan scheme, admitting an error in its initial press release.
Before ICPC’s clarification, NELFUND, in a press statement issued by Mrs Oseyemi Oluwatuyi, the Director of Strategic Communications, refuted allegations of mismanaging N71.2 billion in student loan funds.
In the statement, the agency denied the ICPC’s claims, asserting that its financial records are intact and that all disbursements have been conducted in line with federal guidelines.
Doubling down, NELFUND’s MD, during Sunday’s interview, stated: “We are all looking for this so-called money. First of all, let me be very clear. No money has been stolen. The President, in his wisdom and well-intentioned programme, decided that he was going to set up the Nigeria Education Loan Fund.
“So the funds that we’ve been given is to bridge the gap for those who don’t have the money to be able to attain the education. No money is missing. No money has been stolen. There had been some issues with what happened at the phase of this where human intervention comes in.”
Sawyerr also confirmed meeting with the NOA Director-General, Lanre Issa-Oniru over the embarrassing development.
“So I meet with Mr. Oniru regularly but the conversation you’re referring to took place on the telephone. But let me go back and just continue to correct this misconception. No N71bn is missing. So let’s break it down. Let me tell you we’ve received not even N100bn. The Nigerian Education Loan Fund has received about N203bn.
“I’ll break it down for you – N10bn from the Office of the Minister of Finance through the Office of the Accountant General, N50bn from the EFCC’s proceeds of crime and N143bn from TETFund. So you can see already that the actual amount received is more than what’s even been said to have been received.
“Out of that, N54bn has been disbursed to date while N30bn and N24bn had gone to institutions and for upkeep respectively. So there’s a pocket money side to this. That’s N54bn disbursed already in the space of about 11 and a half months. It’s in the Central Bank of Nigeria.”
The NELFUND boss also clarified that there was no instance where any student received a loan directly from their initiative.
He also confirmed that there is an ongoing investigation to unravel the mystery behind the allegation of delayed payments and, in some cases, money not reaching the genuine beneficiaries.
“Let me correct a misconception there. There is no disbursement from the NELFUND account through the schools, to the students. The NELFUND money goes to the schools for their tuition or their institutional charges. The schools are supposed to give unfettered access to the students for classes.
“The schools do not disburse to the students, except in the case where the student has already paid their fees, in which case there’s been a double payment. So there’s a very careful meticulous investigation going on to try to understand where this is happening and how it’s happening.
“Some of the schools, as a result of this brouhaha, have started making those refunds available. But it’s not acceptable. Students should not be exploited in this way,” Sawyerr added.
