NELFUND Urges MDAs To Mobilise Parents, Students For Education Loans
By Alice Etuka, Abuja
The Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has called on Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to intensify awareness of its student loan scheme, warning that inadequate information could prevent eligible students from benefiting from the Federal Government’s initiative.
The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of NELFUND, Akintunde Sawyerr, made the call on Wednesday during a sensitisation roadshow organised by the fund at the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Federal Secretariat, Abuja.
Sawyerr said MDAs were critical stakeholders in national development and had an important role to play in ensuring that the benefits of the scheme reached intended beneficiaries through effective information dissemination.
He explained that the sensitisation exercise was designed to deepen understanding of NELFUND’s mandate, operations and opportunities available to eligible Nigerian students, while correcting misconceptions surrounding the scheme.
He appreciated the ministry’s management and staff for providing the platform for the engagement, commending participants for their active involvement and contributions.
Also speaking, the Director of SERVICOM at NELFUND, Olusola Fowobaje, said the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs was selected because of its proximity to grassroots communities and its role in efforts to reduce poverty.
He noted that although many civil servants might have heard about the loan scheme through television and social media, they might not have sufficient information because of their busy work schedules.
According to him, workers are parents and guardians who need detailed information about the scheme to guide their children and wards in accessing the opportunity.
Fowobaje stressed that the loans were interest-free and intended to support students in federal and state government-owned tertiary institutions.
He said the initiative was being taken directly to ministries and agencies in line with the directive of the NELFUND chief executive to bring the information closer to Nigerians.
The SERVICOM director expressed concern that some students who benefited from the scheme still collected tuition fees from their parents because the parents were unaware that the government had already provided financial support.
He said the sensitisation programme would help address such situations by ensuring that parents understood the scheme and could monitor their children’s access to the loans.
Fowobaje added that the fund had already visited the Ministry of Regional Development, with plans to extend the exercise to other institutions, including security agencies and military barracks.
He described the initiative as an opportunity to break financial barriers to education, stressing that children from disadvantaged backgrounds should have access to higher education irrespective of their parents’ financial circumstances.
According to him, NELFUND is committed to reducing student dropouts caused by financial difficulties, promoting human capital development and ensuring inclusive access to quality education.
He said the fund would continue providing financial assistance to eligible students in public tertiary institutions through a transparent and accountable loan system.
NELFUND disclosed that as of the end of October 2026, it had disbursed more than N375bn to students nationwide, comprising over N194bn for institutional fees and more than N180bn for students’ upkeep allowances.
During the engagement, participants were also taken through the NELFUND application portal and disbursement procedures, while questions bordering on the sustainability of the scheme, death of beneficiaries and loan repayment after employment were addressed.
In her remarks, the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Olubumi Olusanya, represented by the Assistant Director, Training and Staff Welfare, Eweje Modukpe, commended NELFUND for organising the sensitisation exercise.
She described the presentations as an eye-opener, noting that they had helped dispel doubts about the existence and credibility of the scheme.
Modukpe said some staff initially questioned the relevance of the engagement because they were not students, but subsequently understood that they could benefit indirectly as parents, guardians and sponsors of students.
She urged the ministry’s workforce to become advocates of NELFUND by sharing accurate information about the scheme with their families and communities.
