NELFUND: Your Children May Be Collecting Loans Without Telling You, Oyedele Says

The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, has suggested that some students may have received funding from the Nigerian Education Loan Fund without informing their parents.

Oyedele made the remark while responding to an audience member who said his three children in school had not received NELFUND funding and that they were unaware of any friends who had benefited from the scheme.

Speaking at a media briefing in Abuja, the minister urged the parent to ask his children whether they had applied for the programme and to request evidence of their applications.

Oyedele said, “It is possible they’ve collected the money, and they are collecting from you.”

He advised parents to engage their children directly and ensure they were honest about whether they had applied for or received the financial support.

The minister also encouraged parents whose children had not applied to assist them with the process, saying NELFUND had made it possible for eligible students to access financial support for their education.

According to Oyedele, the scheme does not only cover tuition but also provides beneficiaries with monthly stipends.

He said students could access up to N1.5 million through the programme and urged parents who were unsure about the application process to seek assistance from the Ministry of Finance.

Oyedele said, “You can go to the website. In fact, what you can do, ask any of those your three children to give you their details. Help them apply.”

He added that parents who encountered difficulties accessing the application platform could approach the Ministry of Finance for assistance.

The minister also pointed to videos of students celebrating after receiving NELFUND support, saying the programme had provided relief to beneficiaries amid the country’s high inflation rate.

Oyedele said the government’s experience with the scheme indicated that students had been receiving alerts after successfully applying for the support.

He further disclosed that uptake of NELFUND funding was higher in the northern part of the country than in the South.

According to him, the difference could partly be attributed to greater willingness to utilise the programme in the North, while some people in the South remained sceptical about government initiatives.

Oyedele said the government had continued to encourage eligible students to take advantage of the scheme rather than rely solely on their parents or other sources of financial support.

He also recalled his experience supporting indigent students through a personal foundation, saying some beneficiaries continued to seek assistance even after he had directed them to apply for available government support.

The minister urged parents to verify whether their children had applied for NELFUND funding and to encourage eligible students to take advantage of the programme.