President Bola Tinubu has ordered that liquid funds recovered by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) be redirected to the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), as part of a broader push to shore up the loan scheme’s finances.
The Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, disclosed this on Wednesday, August 19, while speaking to State House correspondents after a Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting in Abuja.
According to The Cable, Alausa said the Federal Executive Council separately approved a directive to channel unclaimed dividends from the Capital Market Trust Fund and the Dormant Account Trust Fund into NELFUND.
The move would strengthen NELFUND’s capacity to meet growing demand for student loans.
The move is expected to generate excitement among students of tertiary institutions in the country.
The minister quoted the president directly, saying: “The president, in his benevolence, has now directed that all funds recovered by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission be diverted to NELFUND to continue to support its funding.”
Alausa was careful to draw a distinction between the types of recoveries covered by the directive.
He said the president was explicit that only unencumbered liquid cash, not seized properties or looted assets still tied up in legal proceedings, would be transferred to the fund.
“Note, and the President was very clear, not ceased properties, or recovered looted funds, but liquid funds, from the EFCC will now be transferred to NELFUND,” Alausa said.
Directive ‘Linked To Tinubu’s Education Promise’
The minister framed both approvals as consistent with a pledge President Tinubu made during his campaign to widen access to education for Nigerian students. He said the combined inflows from EFCC recoveries and dormant financial instruments would make NELFUND robust enough to honour its expanding obligations.
The move to redirect unclaimed dividends follows a pattern seen in other jurisdictions, where dormant financial assets held in trust are repurposed for public benefit programmes rather than left idle.
In Nigeria’s case, the Capital Market Trust Fund and the Dormant Account Trust Fund hold funds that investors and account holders have not claimed over extended periods.
NELFUND, which disburses tuition and other education-related costs directly to institutions on behalf of qualifying students, has faced scrutiny in recent weeks over the handling of funds.
A separate controversy involving institutions accused of collecting payments from both students and NELFUND without issuing refunds had already drawn attention to the scheme’s administration ahead of this latest announcement.
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