NELFUND Boss Denies Fraud Claims, Says all Payments are Traceable
Last update: August 31, 2026
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NELFUND mismanaging billions? The man in charge says absolutely not, and he’s got the receipts to prove it.
So, here’s the gist.
The Managing Director of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), Akintunde Sawyerr, has come out swinging against claims that money is going missing at the agency.
Speaking with the media on Monday, Sawyerr was very clear: there is simply no evidence of any financial misappropriation.
According to him, people seem to be forgetting how the whole thing works. For students to get a loan, there has to be capital to draw from in the first place. And that capital, he explained, is part of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s welfare push, redirecting money from fuel subsidy that would have gone to the top 1% of the 1% straight into programmes like NELFUND.
But what about transparency? Sawyerr wasn’t having the “opaque” label either.
He argued that calling the scheme opaque is a bit extreme. Everything is electronic and traceable. In fact, he revealed that NELFUND recently paid over N1bn directly to the University of Ibadan, while student upkeep allowances go straight into beneficiaries’ bank accounts.
“The money leaves the Central Bank of Nigeria and goes either to the institution, the University of Ibadan, or in the case of upkeep, goes directly to the students in their bank accounts. So, I’m struggling to understand where the lack of transparency is. It sounds a little bit like mischief to me,” he said.
Before NELFUND, he noted, schools like UI had high dropout rates simply because students couldn’t afford to stay. Now, the fund pays institutions directly and asks them to give students access to classes. No cash under the table.
And on whether the selection process is fair? Sawyerr said the system is completely blind to who you are or who you know.
Applications are done electronically. The system doesn’t care if you’re male or female, Igbo, Hausa, Yoruba, Fulani, Ibibio or Ogoja. It doesn’t care if you’re friends with the MD or in-laws with the Executive Director.
If you’ve got an NIN to prove you’re Nigerian, a JAMB number to prove you’re qualified, a matriculation number to prove you’ve got admission, and a bank account, you’re in.
As he put it, it’s entirely agnostic.
Source: cbinews.tv
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