*The Nigerian Education Loan Fund dismisses as outright ‘fake news’ a viral publication claiming that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved life imprisonment for students who fail to repay their education loans after graduation
Isola Moses | ConsumerConnect
Sequel to reported misleading information and campaign of calumny against the novel student loan scheme, the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has dismissed as false a viral publication claiming that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, has approved life imprisonment for students who fail to repay their education loans after graduation.
ConsumerConnect reports NELFUND Sunday, September 6, 2026, described the viral claim as “fake news” in a post on its official X account.
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The Fund also published an image of the purported newspaper front page being circulated online to alert Nigerians to the falsehood in regard to the scheme.
It is equally noted that the misleading publication, dated Thursday, May 27, 2027, bore a headline alleging that President Tinubu had declared: “All students who fail to repay their loan after graduation will go to jail for life.”
In sensitising Nigerians to the misleading report, NELFUND further placed a prominent red “FAKE” stamp across the image, signalling that the purported announcement did not originate from the Nigerian Government.
The latest clarification is regarded as an adjunct to earlier series of warnings by the Fund against misleading information by unnamed individuals and groups concerning the student loan scheme in the education sector.
Hitherto, NELFUND had debunked other fabricated circulars and notices concerning the suspension of the student loan disbursement programme, according to report.
Core objectives of NELFUND
The Federal Government of Nigeria established NELFUND under the Student Loans (Access to Higher Education) Act.
President Tinubu signed the Act into law, and re-enacted same 2024.
The Fund administers zero-interest loans to eligible Nigerian students in public tertiary institutions, covering their institutional charges and, where applicable, upkeep allowances.
The Act also stated that repayment does not begin immediately after graduation.
Instead, under the current NELFUND regulatory framework, repayment by beneficiaries becomes due two years after completion of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) programme, with the obligation tied to the student-beneficiary “being employed or earning an income.”
Further still, for beneficiaries in paid employment, 10 percent of their monthly salaries, wages, and other income is deducted at source by employers for loan repayments.
Whereas self-employed beneficiaries are required to remit 10 percent of their total monthly profit to the Fund as loan repayment.
However, the Student Loans (Access to Higher Education) Act stipulates that beneficiaries, who remain unemployed, and have no income after the repayment period can seek an extension by providing a sworn statement in the manner prescribed by the Board of NELFUND.