{"id":4098,"date":"2026-09-10T19:55:14","date_gmt":"2026-09-10T19:55:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/?p=4098"},"modified":"2026-09-10T20:48:16","modified_gmt":"2026-09-10T20:48:16","slug":"education-requests-for-student-loans-ever-increasing-nelfund","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/?p=4098","title":{"rendered":"Education: Requests for student loans ever increasing &#8211;NELFUND"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong><em>*Akintunde Sawyerr, Managing Director and CEO, Nigerian Education Loan Fund, affirms the student loan scheme has provided a lifeline for students, who otherwise would struggle to finance their education, describing the increasing demand for student loans as \u2018overwhelming\u2019 in the vital sector of the economy<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Isola Moses | ConsumerConnect<\/p>\n<p>Despite recent misrepresentations and attendant campaign of calumny against the operations of the Fund, Mr. Akintunde Sawyerr, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), has said sustained demand for student loans has been \u201coverwhelming\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Sawyerr stated this during a recent interview on a Channels TV&#8221;s programme, saying that the student loan scheme has provided a lifeline for students who would otherwise struggle to finance their education.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"eAWGz7qCQB\"><p><a href=\"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/?p=4113\">UK invests in 68 Nigerian future leaders through Chevening and Commonwealth Scholarships<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"\u201cUK invests in 68 Nigerian future leaders through Chevening and Commonwealth Scholarships\u201d \u2014 Consumer Experience Is A Top Priority\" src=\"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/?p=4113&amp;embed=true#?secret=F8nWrl35u8#?secret=eAWGz7qCQB\" data-secret=\"eAWGz7qCQB\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe demand has been overwhelming, because clearly a lot of people have struggled to get into these institutions,\u201d he said. \u201cThey are hanging on by the skin of their teeth to stay in the institution, and this programme came as a rescue for them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>According to Sawyerr, NELFUND was now analysing the growing demand and the figures around its disbursements to better understand the financial requirements of the scheme.<\/p>\n<p>The NELFUND boss noted that the scheme has so far disbursed \u20a6162 billion in upkeep allowances to students, as the government-backed scheme continues to expand its reach across public tertiary institutions.<\/p>\n<p>He said the programme was also beginning to influence competition among tertiary institutions, as students gained greater financial flexibility in choosing where to study.<\/p>\n<p>Sawyerr also dismissed claims that the fund favours children of members of the All<\/p>\n<p>He said the system was designed \u201cwithout bias\u201d, political affiliation or other considerations, stressing that beneficiaries were determined according to the established criteria.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking on how the fund identifies students who are unable to pay their fees, Sawyerr said NELFUND relies on information and established processes to determine eligibility.<\/p>\n<p>He also cited research indicating that the scheme had contributed to a reduction in student dropout rates, saying it has \u201creduced by 20 per cent.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>On repayment, he maintained that paying back the loans should not constitute an undue burden for beneficiaries, noting that the system was structured around beneficiaries\u2019 ability to repay.<\/p>\n<p>He added that beneficiaries would become increasingly traceable as the repayment system develops.<\/p>\n<p>The NELFUND Chief Executive also spoke about President Bola Ahmed Tinubu\u2019s announcement about the use of funds recovered by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to support the student loan scheme.<\/p>\n<p>Sawyerr said the funds had not yet been received by NELFUND.<\/p>\n<p><em>ConsumerConnect<\/em> reports President Tinubu, in April 2024, signed the student loan scheme, established under the Student Loans Act into law.<\/p>\n<p>The Fund provides interest-free financial support to eligible Nigerian students in public tertiary institutions.<\/p>\n<p>The scheme also covers approved institutional charges and upkeep allowances, with repayment scheduled to begin two years after completion of the beneficiary\u2019s National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) programme in Nigeria.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>*Akintunde Sawyerr, Managing Director and CEO, Nigerian Education Loan Fund, affirms the student loan scheme has provided a lifeline for students, who otherwise would struggle&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3957,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_FSMCFIC_featured_image_caption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_nocaption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_hide":"","_customify_content_layout":"","_customify_sidebar":"","_customify_page_header_display":"default","_customify_disable_header":"","_customify_disable_header_top":"","_customify_disable_header_main":"","_customify_disable_header_bottom":"","_customify_disable_page_title":"","_customify_disable_content_vertical_padding":"","_customify_disable_footer_top":"","_customify_disable_footer_main":"","_customify_disable_footer_bottom":"","_customify_breadcrumb_display":"","_customify_header_transparent_display":"default","footnotes":""},"categories":[20,3,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4098","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-highlights","category-infoeducation","category-markets"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/NELFUND-Logo-NW-cc.png",672,365,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/NELFUND-Logo-NW-cc-150x150.png",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/NELFUND-Logo-NW-cc-300x163.png",300,163,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/NELFUND-Logo-NW-cc.png",672,365,false],"large":["https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/NELFUND-Logo-NW-cc.png",672,365,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/NELFUND-Logo-NW-cc.png",672,365,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/NELFUND-Logo-NW-cc.png",672,365,false]},"author_info":{"info":["ConsumerConnect"]},"category_info":"<a href=\"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/?cat=20\" rel=\"category\">Highlights<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/?cat=3\" rel=\"category\">InfoEducation<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/?cat=4\" 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