By Ayo Kehinde
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has commenced a comprehensive investigation into alleged discrepancies surrounding the disbursement of student loans under the Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NELFUND).
In a statement on Thursday, the Commission said the investigation follows recent media reports alleging that over 51 tertiary institutions were making unauthorised deductions ranging from N3,500 to N30,000 from each student’s institutional fees paid through the loans.
The statement said, “Preliminary findings revealed a significant gap in the financial records of the disbursement process. While the Federal Government reportedly released N100 billion for the scheme, only N28.8 billion was disbursed to students, leaving an unaccounted sum of N71.2 billion.”
Upon receiving the report, the Commission confirmed that its Chairman’s Special Task Force immediately swung into action. Letters of investigation and invitations were dispatched to key stakeholders, including the Director General of the Budget Office, the Accountant General of the Federation, and senior officials from the Central Bank of Nigeria. Additionally, the Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of NELFUND were invited to provide documentation and explanations relevant to the case.
It further stated that responses received were critically analysed, and interviews were conducted with the concerned individuals.
According to the ICPC, its strength of investigation revealed that the total money received by NELFUND as of March 19, 2024, was N203.8 billion.
“The breakdown showed that N10 billion was an allocation from the Federation Allocation Account Committee, N50 billion was from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, N71.9 billion was from the Tertiary Education Trust Fund, while another N71.9 billion was also from the same Tertiary Education Trust Fund.”
It, however, found that “the total amount disbursed to institutions from inception to date is about N44,200,933,649.00, while a total of 299 institutions have benefited from the funds released.
“To date, the total amount disbursed to 299 beneficiary institutions stands at approximately N44.2 billion, with 293,178 students having benefited from the fund.”
The Commission confirmed that “a clear case of discrepancies has been established in the administration of the student loan scheme and announced that its investigation will now extend to beneficiary institutions and individual student recipients.
“Further updates will be provided as the investigation progresses.”
