Mohamed Garba
In a significant boost to education nationwide, the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFund) has approved N20,075,050,006.55 for disbursement to 192,906 students in public tertiary institutions across the country.
This development was confirmed by NELFund in an update posted on X on Monday, stating that the disbursement was made effective January 1, 2025.According to NELFund’s Managing Director, Akintunde Sawyerr, this latest disbursement brings the total amount disbursed by the agency to students across the country to N110bn.
Sawyerr noted that the fund’s primary financing comes through the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), with additional funding from the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND)The breakdown of the latest disbursement shows that Bayero University, Kano, tops the list with 11,683 students approved to receive a total of N1.3bn.
The University of Maiduguri follows closely, with 12,198 students set to share N1.27bn. The University of Jos also benefits, with 6,988 students approved for the loan.
It’s worth noting that NELFund targets 1.2 million beneficiaries by 2025, with a focus on students from government-owned tertiary institutions. The loan scheme allows students to receive stipends and tuition support, with repayment terms that don’t kick in until after graduation and securing employment.
