Akintunde Sawyerr, managing director of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), says the agency spends about N16 billion monthly on student upkeep.
Speaking on the sustainability of the student loan scheme on Monday on Arise TV, Sawyerr said that NELFUND had received about 1.8 million applications, processed about 1.5 million, and provided value to about 850,000 beneficiaries.
“It’s a loan scheme; it’s two years plus old. We’re not getting any recoveries of the loans as of today,” Sawyerr said.
“But how do you keep it going? We have a bill every month as of today of about N16 billion in upkeep alone. How do you maintain that?”
He said the government was exploring alternative funding sources to sustain the programme, including funds recovered from cases involving the misappropriation of public resources.
Sawyerr also dismissed allegations that NELFUND was involved in any arrangement to plea-bargain with individuals accused of financial crimes in exchange for funding.
“The President did not say go and plea bargain or set up a plea bargain arrangement with those who have misappropriated Nigeria’s funds and then give it to NELFUND,” he said.
According to him, the issue of misappropriated funds and proceeds of crime is separate from NELFUND.
Sawyerr said that the government was asking whether liquid assets recovered after such cases could ultimately be deployed to benefit Nigerians who had suffered from the consequences of the alleged crimes.
He said the beneficiaries of such interventions would largely be young Nigerians seeking access to education.
Sawyerr also dismissed allegations of financial misappropriation at NELFUND, saying there was “no evidence” of such wrongdoing.
“There is no evidence of any financial misappropriation by the NELFUND,” he said.
He said institutional payments of the fund were made electronically and directly to beneficiary institutions, while upkeep allowances were transferred directly to students’ bank accounts.
Sawyerr said the system was designed to be “completely agnostic” in selecting beneficiaries, arguing that it does not discriminate on the basis of gender, ethnicity or personal connections.
He said applicants must meet requirements including having a national identification number, a Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) registration number, proof of admission and a bank account, with NELFUND avoiding cash transactions.
On the legality of using recovered proceeds of crime to support the education loan scheme, Sawyerr said he was not a lawyer but expressed confidence that President Bola Tinubu would follow constitutional and legal provisions.
“There is absolutely no evidence today that the law is going to be sidestepped, that the National Assembly is going to be sidestepped,” he said, adding that no executive order had, to his knowledge, been issued to that effect,” he added.
Sawyerr said the long-term sustainability of NELFUND could not depend on proceeds of crime, noting that the law establishing the fund permits it to receive charitable donations, attract investments and invest in activities capable of generating returns.
He said there was already growing private-sector interest in supporting the scheme because of its potential impact on employment, crime, banditry and insurgency.
“We can’t possibly rely on proceeds of crime in the long term,” Sawyerr said.
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