The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), Akintunde Sawyerr, has dismissed allegations of financial misappropriation within the student loan scheme, insisting that all payments made by the agency are electronically traceable.
Sawyerr made the clarification during an interview with ARISE News amid concerns over the management and disbursement of funds under the Federal Government’s student loan programme.
He said NELFUND had nothing to conceal about its financial operations, explaining that its electronic payment system creates an audit trail for funds disbursed to beneficiary institutions and students.
“There is no evidence of any financial misappropriation by NELFUND,” Sawyerr said.
He explained that government funding provides the capital for the student loan scheme, while NELFUND facilitates the disbursement of approved loans to eligible beneficiaries.
According to him, the electronic nature of the payment system makes it possible to trace the movement of funds from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to beneficiary institutions and students.
Sawyerr also explained that NELFUND operates separate channels for institutional fees and students’ upkeep allowances.
He said approved institutional fees are paid directly to the relevant institutions, while upkeep allowances are transferred into the individual bank accounts of eligible students.
Citing a recent disbursement of more than N1 billion to the University of Ibadan, the NELFUND chief executive said the transaction demonstrated how funds under the scheme are transferred through identifiable electronic channels.
The clarification comes as NELFUND continues to expand the student loan scheme, with increasing public scrutiny of how funds allocated to support students are managed and disbursed.
Sawyerr maintained that NELFUND’s payment processes are traceable and that the agency has no evidence of financial misappropriation.
His comments were made in response to concerns over transparency and accountability within the student loan scheme and did not constitute an announcement of a new loan policy.
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