The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has disbursed a total of N161.97 billion to 864,798 students across the country since the launch of its student loan portal, marking a major milestone in the Federal Government’s drive to expand access to tertiary education.
The Managing Director of NELFUND, Mr. Akintunde Sawyerr, disclosed this on Tuesday in Abuja while briefing journalists on the progress, impact and challenges of the student loan scheme.
Sawyerr described the initiative as a flagship outcome of President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, stressing that the fund was created to ensure that no Nigerian student is denied education due to financial hardship.
“As at today, 1,361,011 applications have been received. So far, 864,798 students have benefited, and total disbursement stands at N161.97 billion,” he said.
A breakdown of the figure shows that N89.94 billion was paid directly to 263 tertiary institutions to cover tuition and institutional charges, while N72.03 billion was disbursed to students as upkeep allowances.
According to Sawyerr, the figures reflect the growing impact of the scheme on Nigerian families, describing them as clear evidence that financial barriers to education are being dismantled.
“These numbers represent real lives changed, real opportunities created and real relief for families across the country,” he added.
The NELFUND boss noted that the agency had spent the past year engaging extensively with tertiary institutions nationwide to drive awareness and access to the scheme. He said the next phase would focus on broader stakeholder engagement, including parents, guardians, traditional rulers and faith-based organisations, to deepen public trust and understanding.
“While we have worked closely with students and institutions, we now recognise the need to bring in other critical stakeholders who influence education decisions at the grassroots,” Sawyerr said.
On challenges, he revealed that a reconciliation exercise after the 2024/2025 academic session showed that 11,685 students were owed outstanding upkeep payments totaling N927.98 million.
He explained that the delay was not due to policy failure or lack of funds but resulted from technical and operational issues such as network failures, unsuccessful transactions and unvalidated bank details.
To address this, he said NELFUND had approved a one-off reconciliation process involving direct engagement with affected students, a grace period to update bank details, multi-layer verification and immediate payment upon validation.
Speaking on sustainability, Sawyerr said recent amendments to the student loan law — including removal of guarantor requirements, inclusion of upkeep allowances and provisions to raise and invest funds — were designed to ensure the long-term viability of the scheme.
He added that NELFUND was also exploring partnerships with philanthropists, corporate bodies and government agencies, citing a N20 billion collaboration with the Ministry of Education on Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET).
Also speaking at the briefing, the Executive Director of Operations, Mr. Mustapha Iyal, said the outstanding upkeep payments affected about 11,000 students out of more than 400,000 beneficiaries during the 2024/2025 session.
Iyal explained that many of the issues stemmed from incorrect data supplied by applicants, adding that feedback had already been received from over 100 institutions to validate student information.
He disclosed that applications for the 2025/2026 academic session began in November 2025, with over 280,000 applications received from more than 200 institutions, and loans already disbursed to over 150,000 students.
He further revealed that loan repayment had commenced, noting that some beneficiaries who have graduated and secured employment have begun repaying their loans, signalling a positive step toward the sustainability of the scheme.
Upkeep payments for the new academic session, he added, are expected to begin in January, as allowances are tied to active academic sessions and require fresh applications each year.