The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has clarified reports in a section of the media purporting that the Commission donated N50billion to the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, NELFUND from its recovery account.
According to a statement on Wednesday by the Commission’s spokesman, Dele Oyewale, the fund was not a donation by the Commission but part of the recovered proceeds of crime remitted to the government.
TheFact Daily reports that the NELFUND’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Akintunde Sawyerr, had on Tuesday, led his management team on a courtesy visit to the EFCC headquarters in Abuja where he appreciated the EFCC for the N50 billion injected into NELFUND from the proceeds of crime recovered by the commission.
“We are aware of the funds from the proceeds of crime extended to NELFUND. We are here to express our gratitude for the gesture. We also want the EFCC to exercise oversight on what we are doing,” Sawyerr had said.
The anti-graft Agency’s spokesman stated that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in furtherance of his social intervention policy for the most vulnerable segments of the population, decided in his wisdom, to plough the money into funding the critically acclaimed students loan scheme.
“It is not the place of the Commission to determine where the government commits recovered proceeds of crime. But the student’s loan scheme is a salutary innovation which has the potential to reduce youth involvement in criminality”, Oyewale said.
He further reiterated the Commission’s Chairman, Ola Olukoyde’s disclosure during the courtesy visit by NELFUND, that the EFCC will monitor the use of the funds to ensure accountability and the realization of the objectives of the Scheme.
