Nigerian Education Loan Fund to Disburse Student Loans to 110,000 Beneficiaries
The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has announced that 110,000 successful beneficiaries of its student loan scheme will start receiving credit alerts from next week. This follows the official launch of disbursement by President Bola Tinubu, who handed symbolic cheques to beneficiaries at the presidential villa on Wednesday.
According to NELFUND Managing Director, Akintunde Sawyerr, the fund currently has N35 billion in financial backing from the Nigerian government. Sawyerr revealed that the first batch of beneficiaries to receive alerts are those who are about to start a new academic session in their institutions.
Sawyerr explained that the fund has already received over 110,000 applications from students, which have been verified as bona fide and eligible. Although further verification will be carried out to ensure the students are well-qualified to receive the loans, over 110,000 students are likely to begin receiving disbursements from next week.
The NELFUND scheme was launched in April after President Tinubu signed the reviewed Student Loan Act, marking the official kickoff of the program. Initially, the fund aimed to support 1.2 million students from Federal Tertiary institutions, and has now expanded to include State-owned institutions.
The development is expected to provide much-needed financial assistance to thousands of Nigerian students, enabling them to pursue their higher education goals.