Nelfund to hit N20b loan disbursement this week

The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), Akintunde Sawyerr, has announced that the fund will reach N20 billion in loan disbursements by the end of this week.

During an oversight visit by the House Committee on Student Loans and Higher Education Financing in Abuja, Sawyerr disclosed that the agency has already disbursed N12 billion in loans to students.

He revealed that NELFUND received 610,000 applications, of which 321,000 were reviewed, and approvals sent to institutions for validation. So far, 120,000 individuals have benefited from stipends under the program.

“We have 610,000 applications we have reviewed, some of which have been approved and sent to institutions for validation. Last week, we approved further disbursements to 52 institutions for payments to institutions and individuals, including stipend payouts,” Sawyerr explained.

He added that the registration process for applicants involves extensive validation checks, with over 400,000 registrations completed so far. “The exposure in terms of disbursement is about N12 billion. This week, further disbursements will take that figure to N20 billion. Around 120,000 people have received or are about to receive stipends.”

Chairman of the committee, Gboyega Isiaka, commended NELFUND for its efforts, describing the progress and statistics as satisfactory. He also noted areas requiring improvement and pledged the committee’s support and oversight.

Isiaka praised the student loan initiative by the Presidency and emphasized the need for increased sensitization, particularly in the southern part of the country, where application rates remain lower than expected.