ABUJA, Nigeria – The Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) says it has disbursed more than ₦375 billion to students across the country, as it intensifies efforts to increase awareness and expand access to its interest-free education loan scheme.
The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of NELFUND, Akintunde Sawyerr, disclosed this on Wednesday during a sensitisation roadshow at the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs in Abuja. Sawyerr urged Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to support the campaign by providing accurate information about the scheme and helping eligible Nigerians understand how to access the loans.
According to the fund, more than ₦194 billion had been disbursed towards institutional fees as of October 2026, while over ₦180 billion had been allocated to students’ upkeep allowances. The Director of SERVICOM at NELFUND, Olusola Fowobaje, said the engagement with ministry workers was intended to address information gaps among parents and guardians, some of whom, he noted, continued paying their children’s school fees despite the students being eligible for the loan scheme.
Fowobaje said the fund would sustain its support for eligible students in public tertiary institutions to reduce education-related dropouts and improve access to higher education. He said the initiative was also intended to promote human capital development, national productivity and more inclusive access to quality education.
The Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Olubumi Olusanya, represented by the Assistant Director of Training and Staff Welfare, Eweje Ololade Modukpe, described the sensitisation exercise as an opportunity to address misconceptions about the programme. She urged ministry workers to share the information with parents, guardians and other eligible Nigerians who could benefit from the scheme.
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