A thorough inquiry into purported irregularities pertaining to the distribution of student loans under the Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), has been initiated by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
This comes in the wake of a recent media revelation that claimed 51 or more postsecondary schools were involved in unlawful deductions and exploitation pertaining to the NELFUND plan.
The institutions were alleged to have made unauthorised deductions ranging from N3,500 to N30,000 from each student’s institutional fees received through the loan fund.
“Preliminary findings revealed a significant gap in the financial records of the disbursement process,” the ICPC stated in a statement issued by Public Enlightenment and Education Director Demola Bakare.
According to the study, the Federal Government released N100 billion for the program; however, only N28.8 billion of the amount was distributed to students, leaving N71.2 billion unaccounted for.
It stated that the Commission has confirmed this after its Chairman’s Special Task Force acted quickly after receiving the information.
Key stakeholders, including the Director General of the Budget Office, the Accountant General of the Federation, and senior officials from the Central Bank of Nigeria, received invitations and letters of investigation, according to the statement.
“Additionally, the Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of NELFUND were invited to provide documentation and explanations relevant to the case,” the statement said.
According to the Commission, the responses received were critically analysed, and interviews were conducted with the concerned individuals.
The ICPC said that its strength of investigation revealed that the total money received by NELFUND as of March 19, 2024, was N203.8 billion.
“The breakdown showed that N10 Billion was an allocation from the Federation Allocation Account Committee, N50 billion was from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, N71.9B was from the Tertiary Education Trust Fund, while another N71.9 billion was also from the same Tertiary Education Trust Fund.
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“ICPC, however, found that the total amount disbursed to institutions from inception to date is about N44,200,933,649.00, while a total of 299 institutions have benefited from the funds released.
“To date, the total amount disbursed to 299 beneficiary institutions stands at approximately N44.2 billion, with 293,178 students benefiting from the fund.
“The ICPC confirms that a clear case of discrepancies has been established in the administration of the student loan scheme and announced that its investigation will now extend to beneficiary institutions and individual student recipients,” the statement added.
It said further updates will be provided as the investigation progresses.
