The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has contributed N50 billion to the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, a key initiative aimed at supporting the education of underprivileged students across the country.
This was announced on Tuesday, August 13, 2024, during a visit by the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of NELFUND, Akintunde Sawyerr, and his team to the EFCC headquarters in Abuja.
Sawyerr highlighted the importance of the fund, which was established under the administration of President Bola Tinubu, as a vital resource for addressing the challenges faced by indigent students in Nigeria.
He expressed appreciation for the EFCC’s significant financial injection, which he noted was sourced from the proceeds of crimes recovered by the commission.
“We are aware of the funds from the proceeds of crime extended to NELFUND,” Sawyerr stated.
“We are here to express our gratitude for the gesture and to seek the EFCC’s oversight in ensuring that these funds are used transparently.”
He emphasized the pressing need to support Nigeria’s youth, whom he described as the most populous yet neglected segment of the population.
According to Sawyerr, President Tinubu recognized this challenge and introduced NELFUND as a major solution.
EFCC Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, praised the initiative as a proactive measure against financial crimes, noting that the inability of parents to finance their children’s education often drives young people toward cybercrimes.
“NELFUND is a policy initiative against crimes,” Olukoyede said, commending President Tinubu for his foresight.
Olukoyede also urged the NELFUND management team to maintain transparency in their operations, stressing that this would bolster the EFCC’s efforts to combat corruption.
“Let your hands be clean,” he advised. “The work entrusted to you will help the EFCC fight corruption. Your systems and processes must be transparent.”
He further tasked Sawyerr and his team with regularly reporting on the disbursement of funds to the EFCC, vowing to prevent any misappropriation of the N50 billion contribution.
“I will fight to ensure that the money pooled together to support NELFUND is not re-looted,” Olukoyede asserted.
Olukoyede called on Nigerians to support the NELFUND initiative and the broader efforts of the Tinubu administration.
The Student Loans (Access to Higher Education) Act, which President Tinubu signed into law on April 3, 2024, laid the groundwork for this program.
Since the launch of its portal on May 25, 2024, NELFUND has seen a record number of student loan applications, with over 1.2 million students in federal tertiary institutions registering in the first batch.
