The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Southwest Public Relations Officer, Comrade Tope Olugbemi, has called for stronger oversight of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), including the establishment of an independent task force to investigate alleged irregularities in the administration of student loans.
Olugbemi said the government-backed student loan scheme had improved access to higher education for many Nigerian students but warned that alleged abuses by some institutional managers and beneficiaries could undermine its objectives if left unchecked.
Speaking on Trade FM’s Business of Learning, Olugbemi identified alleged arbitrary increases in tuition fees, delays in refunding students who paid their fees before NELFUND disbursements, and students concealing loan benefits from their parents or guardians as issues requiring urgent attention.
He urged the Federal Government to strengthen monitoring mechanisms, ensure accountability among participating institutions and guarantee that the scheme delivers its intended benefits to financially disadvantaged students.
According to him, the next two to three years should be devoted to eliminating irregularities and building a more transparent and effective system.
“There are a lot of frauds going around NELFUND, and I am saying it openly, unapologetically,” he said, while distinguishing the alleged abuses he described from the government’s administration of the scheme.
NELFUND has eased students’ financial burdens
Despite the concerns, the NANS Southwest spokesperson described NELFUND as a significant intervention in the country’s education sector, arguing that it had enabled students from less privileged backgrounds to pursue their studies without depending entirely on their families for tuition and upkeep.
According to Olugbemi, the scheme provides an opportunity for eligible students to access financial assistance through an application process, without needing personal connections to government officials or institutional authorities.
“Common persons can access it. You don’t need to know anybody. You don’t need to know any oga. You don’t need to know any lecturer,” he said.
He explained that students whose institutions had completed the necessary documentation and verification processes could apply for the loans and, upon approval, receive tuition payments through their institutions as well as upkeep allowances, subject to the applicable processes.
Olugbemi said the scheme had also helped some students concentrate more fully on their academic activities by reducing the pressure to raise money for tuition and living expenses.
To illustrate its impact, he recounted the experience of a student whose education he had previously helped finance.
He said the student stopped asking him for school fees and upkeep after benefiting from NELFUND, adding that she received a refund after the fund paid her tuition to the institution and also began receiving an upkeep allowance.
“She has stopped asking me for school fees. She has stopped asking me for upkeep,” he said.
According to him, the financial relief had enabled the student to focus more on her studies instead of constantly worrying about how to meet her educational expenses.
“For me, I know that a lot of students, millions of students, are benefiting from this, and it has affected their academic experience overwhelmingly positively,” Olugbemi said.
He cited figures he attributed to the scheme, including 362 participating institutions, 1,556,040 registered students and more than 2.18 million loan applications approved.
These figures were presented by the interviewee and would require independent verification before being treated as confirmed programme statistics.
Delays in approvals and upkeep payments persist
However, Olugbemi acknowledged that the scheme had experienced operational challenges, including delays in application approvals, tuition disbursements and upkeep payments.
He said students had sometimes been required to pay their institutional fees before their loan applications were approved or the funds reached their schools.
Recounting a recent complaint, he said a student contacted him after seeing publicity for the interview and asked whether he could help resolve her NELFUND application, which had yet to be approved.
“Some people getting their applications approved, at times, there are delays,” he said, adding that some beneficiaries had also complained about waiting for several months to receive their upkeep allowances.
Olugbemi noted that NELFUND had attributed some delays to technical problems and platform upgrades, while also maintaining that the system had improved since its introduction in 2024.
He recalled instances in which outstanding upkeep payments covering two or three months were reportedly disbursed together to clear backlogs.
“There is no denying the fact that we have some issues, some challenges. The system has some challenges,” he said.
Nevertheless, he urged students to remain patient while calling for further improvements to the scheme’s operations.
He argued that the existence of challenges should not obscure the potential benefits of the programme, but stressed that continued improvements were necessary to ensure that students received the assistance for which they had been approved.
NELFUND repayment and graduate unemployment
Addressing concerns that student loans could impose an additional financial burden on graduates in a country where employment opportunities remain uncertain, Olugbemi defended the scheme’s repayment structure, describing it as favourable to beneficiaries.
He argued that the interest-free nature of the loans and the provision for repayment after a beneficiary becomes gainfully employed make the arrangement different from conventional commercial borrowing.
According to him, the repayment framework gives graduates time to complete their studies, undertake the mandatory National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) programme and establish themselves financially before beginning repayment, subject to the applicable rules.
“If you look at the repayment structure of NELFUND, you are not even being asked to pay until three years after completing your National Service,” he said.
He also maintained that repayment is linked to a beneficiary’s income rather than being demanded immediately after graduation.
“You are only paying 10 per cent of your income. Trust me, this is a juicy offer,” Olugbemi said.
He described the scheme as an opportunity for students who might otherwise struggle to finance their education, urging young people to understand its terms before dismissing it over concerns about future indebtedness.
However, his statements on the timing and percentage of repayments reflect his interpretation of the scheme and should be checked against NELFUND’s current official repayment guidelines.
Private university students should not be the priority, says Olugbemi
The NANS Southwest PRO opposed extending the scheme to students in private universities, arguing that its primary purpose should be to support students whose families cannot afford the cost of higher education.
He said government-backed assistance should prioritise financially disadvantaged students in public institutions rather than those whose families can afford the comparatively high fees charged by some private universities.
“The major reason why this Federal Government put this system in place is to reach out to average Nigerians,” he said.
Olugbemi explained that the scheme was intended to cushion the financial difficulties faced by families struggling to pay tuition fees and other educational expenses.
He argued that students whose parents could afford expensive private university education should be expected to bear those costs themselves.
“If you feel you will take your children to Covenant University, probably because of class or whatever, better for you, please pay,” he said.
He added that the scheme should remain focused on students whose families cannot comfortably afford university education, insisting that financial hardship should remain central to decisions about eligibility and access.
NANS promises continued engagement with government
Olugbemi said NANS Southwest had continued to communicate students’ complaints to government officials and NELFUND management through dialogue, public statements and, where necessary, public criticism.
He explained that the association adopted different approaches depending on the nature of the complaint, noting that direct engagement with authorities had sometimes helped resolve problems affecting students.
“We have the ears of people in government,” he said.
According to him, the association had previously contacted NELFUND management over delays in upkeep payments, following complaints from students who had not received their allowances.
He said officials had explained that technical upgrades were being carried out and subsequently resolved some of the outstanding payment issues.
Olugbemi described the engagement as part of NANS Southwest’s responsibility to represent students and ensure their concerns reached the relevant authorities.
He added that the association would continue to push for solutions while holding institutions and government agencies accountable for their responsibilities under the scheme.
Alleged tuition fee increases and delayed refunds
Outlining what he considered some of the most serious threats to NELFUND’s effectiveness, Olugbemi accused some institutional managers of allegedly taking advantage of the scheme by increasing tuition fees.
He argued that some institutions could be tempted to raise their charges because the Federal Government was providing financial assistance to eligible students.
He cited a hypothetical example in which a fee previously set at N100,000 was increased to N180,000, suggesting that such an increase could undermine the financial relief the scheme was designed to provide.
“These are irregularities that are facing NELFUND,” he said, calling for closer scrutiny of institutional charges.
The allegations were not independently established in the interview, and Olugbemi did not identify the institutions allegedly involved.
He also raised concerns about students who paid their tuition fees before NELFUND subsequently disbursed money to their institutions.
According to him, some students had waited for months to receive refunds even after their schools had received the corresponding loan payments.
He recounted a case in which he said he had personally intervened over a delayed refund, alleging that the institution had failed to return the money to the affected student despite receiving funds from NELFUND.
To address the problem, he proposed that institutions be required to refund students within 48 hours of receiving NELFUND payments covering fees already paid by the beneficiaries.
“The moment the management receives NELFUND, after 48 hours, students will be refunded,” he said.
He further recommended the establishment of an independent task force, potentially operating through the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), to monitor disbursements, investigate suspected abuses and ensure that institutions comply with refund requirements.
Olugbemi said such a mechanism would help prevent the scheme from being exploited by individuals or institutions seeking to benefit improperly from public funds.
He maintained that stronger oversight would protect students and ensure that government resources reached their intended beneficiaries.
Students urged to disclose loan benefits to parents
The NANS Southwest spokesperson also raised concerns about what he described as a lack of transparency among some student beneficiaries regarding their NELFUND loans.
He alleged that some students received government-backed loans without informing their parents or guardians, who might continue paying their tuition and other educational expenses without knowing that assistance had already been provided.
According to him, such situations could defeat the purpose of the scheme by leaving families to shoulder expenses that NELFUND had already covered.
He argued that students who benefited from the programme had a responsibility to communicate openly with their families about the assistance they received.
Olugbemi said greater awareness among parents and guardians would help reduce the risk of duplicate payments and make it easier to identify cases in which institutions or individuals might be benefiting improperly.
His comments formed part of his broader call for accountability among all parties involved in the administration and use of student loans.
Transparency key to NELFUND’s long-term success
Olugbemi said the next two to three years would be critical in determining whether NELFUND could consolidate its achievements and address the shortcomings associated with its implementation.
He acknowledged that the scheme was still relatively new, having commenced in 2024, and argued that its systems would require continuous improvement.
Using technology development as an example, he said no major system became perfect immediately after its introduction.
He maintained, however, that the government should use the coming years to eliminate irregularities, improve the speed of approvals and disbursements, strengthen oversight of participating institutions and ensure that beneficiaries received the full benefits of the programme.
For him, the scheme’s success would ultimately depend not only on the amount of money disbursed but also on whether the assistance reached students who genuinely needed it and whether the funds were properly accounted for.
He called on students, institutional authorities and government agencies to take responsibility for protecting the scheme, warning that poor oversight could undermine its long-term objectives.
The interview highlighted both the potential of NELFUND to reduce financial barriers to higher education and the concerns surrounding its implementation. While Olugbemi praised the scheme for providing relief to students and their families, his recommendations centred on tighter monitoring, timely refunds, transparent administration and sustained engagement between student representatives and government authorities.
His position was that the scheme should be strengthened rather than abandoned, with its long-term success measured by its ability to provide reliable educational support while preventing abuse of public funds.
Editorial note: Before publication, independently verify the programme statistics cited by the guest, the current repayment terms, and the allegations concerning tuition increases, delayed refunds and undisclosed student loans. Seek responses from NELFUND and any identifiable institutions implicated. The interviewee’s name and designation are rendered as provided by the programme.
