House of Representatives has vowed not to relent in its efforts to ensure that transparency, accountability and fairness are upheld in the administration of the student loan initiative of the federal government.
The chairman, House Joint Committee on Student Loans, Hon. Ifeoluwa Ehindero, stated this during the North Central zonal investigative hearing on the alleged unethical practices in the disbursement and management of student loans by the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUN) at the Yakubu Gowon University in Abuja.
The House had mandated the joint committee, comprising the committees on Scholarships and Higher Education Financing; Banking and other Ancillary Matters; Anti-Corruption and University Education to probe the alleged diversion, non-disclosure and mismanagement of student loan disbursements as well as non-compliance with the Student Loans Act, 2024.
The joint committee’s chairman said the hearing was convened in response to the mounting public concern and a motion raised on the floor of the House in May this year over stakeholder complaints; credible reports indicating irregularities, lack of transparency, and possible ethical violations in the operations of NELFUND.
Ehindero acknowledged the critical role NELFUND plays in shaping access to tertiary education in the country, saying education is not just a personal right but a public good and a cornerstone of national development hence any systemic failure or abuse within the framework strikes at the heart of Nigeria’s collective aspirations for equity, youth empowerment and national progress.
“I must commend NELFUND and Nigerian Students for embracing this transformative journey of Mr. President’s ‘Renew
Hope Agenda in Education Sector’. During the period under review,
NELFUND has disbursed N73,113,908 543 billion Naira in loans as at Monday 30 June, 2025 with a total of 366,247 student beneficiaries across Federal and State Tertiary Institutions, with N38,262,648,545 allocated to tuition fees and N34,851,260,000 billion Naira for upkeep allowance to over 206 beneficiary institutions.
“Let it be known that this hearing is not a witch-hunt. It is a fact finding and truth-seeking mission. We are here to listen, to ask probing questions, and to hold accountable any individuals or institutions found wanting.
Our commitment is to the Nigerian people particularly the teeming youth who look to government programmes like NELFUND for opportunity, support, and hope.
“For the avoidance of doubt, let me reiterate, we are not here to target individuals or institutions unfairly. We are here to ask questions, to uncover the truth, and to ensure that transparency, accountability, and fairness are upheld in the administration of this important national programme,” he added.
In their separate submissions, heads of institutions across the different states that made up the North Central geopolitical zone described the fund as a critical intervention in the education sector and appealed for the addition of bank charges on the amount sent for disbursement to beneficiaries to reduce the financial strain on institutions making payments.
The acting vice chancellor of Reverend Father Moses Orshio Adasu University, Makurdi (MOAUM), formerly Benue State University, Prof. Simon Ubwa said 2,706 out of the student population of over 24, 000 from the institution have applied and obtained the loan, ameliorating the challenge of non-payment of school fees.
Ubwa lauded the federal government for the initiative which he said has started addressing the hitherto challenge of backlog of tuitions owed by students, negatively affecting the university’ finances and impeding its progress.
“Just like every other university, our university also has this problem of students not paying their user charges, we don’t call it school fees or tuition fees but user charges. It is according to what they use that we try to charge. Every year we have more than a half of the population of students not being able to pay.
“The university regulation is that if a student does not register he should not attend lectures and not take examinations but with the number of students we have who default in payment of fees if we were to enforce that regulation strictly, we will have more than half of the students not graduating.
“So this initiative of the federal government is a welcome development. We believe that with this, the issue of non-payment of user charges by students will be a thing of the past. We see that most of these students who default in payment is not because they have but because they don’t have. So with this initiative we know that it is going to help the universities recover most of the monies they lost in revenue through students who have not been able to pay their user charges,” he stated.
Also speaking, the vice-chancellor, Federal University of Lafia, Prof. Shehu Abdul Rahman, commended the federal government’s scheme saying it was most beneficiary to the institution located in an agrarian community where payment of school fees is a big challenge.
The vice chancellor, represented by the university’s director of academic planning, Prof. Ilemona Adofu, said the institution does not have challenges in disbursing the fund.
“In the Federal University of Lafia, we are grateful to Mr. President for this initiative. Our university is located in an area that is predominantly made up of farmers. Payment of school fees have always been a challenge but this has gone a long way in augmenting some of the students suffering and we want to commend him for that.
“In the Federal University of Lafia we don’t have any problem concerning the disbursement to students but we have brought all the documents as requested by the honourable members and they are here submitted to the clerk,” he said.
While welcoming the committee, the acting vice chancellor of Yakubu Gowon University, Prof. Mathew Adamu hailed President Bola Tinubu for the student loan programme and the House of Representatives for embarking on the probe to unearth the challenges arising from the scheme’s implementation.
“Let me use this opportunity to appreciate President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for this initiative. It is a fantastic initiative, and some of us are not surprised because he is coming from the South West, and he benefited from what Pa Awolowo did. I’m a beneficiary. I started primary education in Ikeja, so we saw what Awolowo was doing. So whatever blocks I have built in my university, it was that foundation I got from Ikeja in Lagos.
“So, we are not surprised with what the president is doing. That is why he has given the opportunity that nobody will say he can not get tertiary education because of lack of funds. So, we thank him most sincerely for this initiative but you know as a country we have laudable projects but they run into problems.
“So I am happy that the People’s Parliament, the House of Representatives has decided to set up this committee to say let us know these challenges, what is causing the delay in disbursement. It is a good one and I know that by the time you are through with the entire six geopolitical zones and put your report back we will be able to proffer solutions to how these bottlenecks can be averted,” he noted.
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