The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, has stated that some Nigerian students may be receiving financial support from the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) without informing their parents.
Oyedele made the statement during a media briefing in Abuja while responding to a participant who said his three children in school had not benefited from the NELFUND scheme and that they were unaware of friends who had received the support.
The minister advised the parent to ask his children whether they had applied for the scheme and request evidence of their applications.
«“It is possible they’ve collected the money, and they are collecting from you,” Oyedele said.»
He added that parents should encourage their children to be open about their applications and, where necessary, assist them in accessing the student loan scheme.
NELFUND provides tuition and monthly stipends
Oyedele said NELFUND support goes beyond tuition payments, noting that beneficiaries also receive monthly stipends.
According to him, students can access up to N1.5 million through the scheme, depending on their circumstances and approved funding.
“We’ve seen video of students randomly rejoicing because it’s not only the tuition that was being paid, they get monthly stipend interest free in a high inflationary environment,” the minister said.
He encouraged parents who were uncertain about how to access the programme to assist their children with the application process.
Oyedele said applicants could visit the relevant website or approach the Ministry of Finance for assistance if they were unable to find the application link.
Oyedele says NELFUND uptake higher in North
The finance minister also disclosed that NELFUND uptake has been higher in northern Nigeria than in the southern part of the country.
“Interestingly, the uptake is more in the North than in the South because we spend all our energy here doubting everything that government does,” he said.
Oyedele said the government had received evidence that students who applied successfully were receiving alerts confirming their funding.
He also recounted his experience assisting indigent students through his personal foundation, saying some beneficiaries initially sought direct financial assistance from him before eventually applying for NELFUND support.
“Many of them were still coming to me after I said go and apply. I sent link to them within two weeks. They said we got alerts,” he said.
The minister therefore urged parents and students to take advantage of the NELFUND programme and verify their application status rather than assume that they were not beneficiaries.
What is NELFUND?
The Nigerian Education Loan Fund is the Federal Government’s student financing scheme designed to provide financial support to eligible Nigerian students in tertiary institutions.
The scheme is intended to ease the burden of tuition and other education-related expenses while expanding access to higher education across the country.
