The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has announced that it has disbursed a total of N116.184 billion loans to students across 176,252 higher institutions as of January 1, 2025.
The disclosure was made on Thursday in Abuja during the agency’s budget defence session before the National Assembly Joint Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TETFUND.
NELFUND’s Managing Director, Akintunde Sawyer, clarified that out of the disbursed amount, N37.7 billion was allocated for institutional loans, while the remaining funds supported students directly. He noted that out of 352,796 students who applied for the loans, only 108,484 received funding.
Despite its significant role in providing financial support to students, NELFUND has been allocated a relatively lower budget of N58.4billion for the 2025 fiscal year.
Presenting the budget breakdown to the committee, Sawyer explained, “Out of the N58.4 billion budgetary allocation for 2025, N12.2 billion is earmarked for personnel costs, N24.7 billion for overhead costs, and N21.4 billion for capital expenditure.”
The joint committee, chaired by Senator Muntari Dandutse and co-chaired by Hon. Gboyega Isiaka, reviewed the agency’s proposals and approved the budget through a voice vote.
NELFUND, established to ease the financial burden on students, continues to face challenges in meeting the increasing demand for educational loans due to limited resources. Sawyer emphasised the need for increased funding to accommodate more students and institutions in the coming years.
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