By Felix Khanoba
Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa, has expressed delight over President Bola Tinubu’s directive that all legally cleared and unencumbered funds recovered by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) be channelled into the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) to strengthen its financial capacity and expand access to tertiary education.
The President also directed that unclaimed dividends and funds in dormant accounts be considered for transfer to NELFUND, subject to the relevant laws governing the funds.
Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa, who spoke on the development Monday, said the directive would provide NELFUND with a stronger and more sustainable financial base as the student loan scheme continues to expand.
According to Alausa, the initiative would ensure that resources recovered on behalf of Nigerians are redirected towards productive purposes, particularly the education and development of young people.
“As you heard me at the last press briefing following the last Federal Executive Council meeting, Mr. President mentioned that we need to make NELFUND financially buoyant and sustainable into the future. During that Council meeting, Mr. President directed that all seized funds, unencumbered funds free of litigation, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission should be diverted to NELFUND to support the growing obligations of the Fund,” a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Media and Communications, Ikharo Attah, quoted the minister to have said.
Alausa, however, stressed that only recovered funds that have been legally cleared and are free from litigation or other encumbrances would qualify for transfer.
“Together with the directives by Mr. President on the seized EFCC funds, which will now be directed to fund NELFUND, Mr. President also directed that all unclaimed dividends from the capital market trust funds, as well as funds in the dormant account trust fund, should also be moved to support the financial sustainability of NELFUND,” he said.
The minister explained that the implementation would be subject to existing legal provisions, with the Attorney-General of the Federation expected to work with the Ministers of Finance and Education and other relevant institutions to develop the necessary framework.
“During that meeting as well, Mr. President directed the Minister of Finance, myself and the Attorney-General of the Federation to work on the modalities to operationalising this. More importantly, the Attorney-General will review the Act setting up the unclaimed dividend trust fund as well as the dormant account trust fund to see how we can be legally compliant in moving those funds,” Dr. Alausa said.
He added that amendments to relevant laws would be considered where necessary.
“If changes would have to be made to the Act, whatever, the Attorney-General is looking into that,” he said.
The minister described the development as a major opportunity for Nigerian students, saying the Tinubu administration was committed to removing financial barriers to education and equipping young Nigerians with the skills needed to contribute to national development.
“This is a time that is great for Nigerian students. You have a President, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, that believes fervently and benevolently in education and continues to push day and night to ensure that every single Nigerian youth gets the best opportunity to be useful to themselves, useful to their community, useful to the country and the global world at large,” he said.
Alausa also commended Tinubu for the political backing and financial support given to the education sector.
“We thank President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the political support as well as the funding that Mr. President has given us in championing his mandate and his directive to myself and the Minister of State, which is that every single Nigerian child in this country, every single Nigerian student in this country should have the best quality and the best education that is comparable to anywhere in the world,” the Minister said.
He said the Federal Government’s investments were already producing improvements in various aspects of the education sector, including the quality of education, services available to students and the welfare of academic and non-academic staff.
The minister added that similar interventions were being extended to basic and senior secondary education.
“We’ve never had it so good in the education sector,” Dr. Alausa said, while expressing appreciation to the President for his continued support towards repositioning the sector.
According to him, the new funding arrangement would complement NELFUND’s existing financing sources and provide the agency with greater capacity to meet its expanding obligations.
“But to summarise, NELFUND, beyond the 15 per cent allocation from the development levy, is now positioned to be financially buoyant into the near future, into the distant future and sustainably to eternity,” he said.
Alausa disclosed that more than 1.2 million Nigerian students in tertiary institutions are currently benefiting from NELFUND, with the agency disbursing over ₦322 billion in institutional fees and upkeep allowances as of August 8.
NELFUND was established in 2024 following President Tinubu’s signing of the Student Loans Access to Higher Education Act into law, creating a framework for interest-free loans to eligible students in tertiary institutions.
The minister said the significance of the new funding mechanism goes beyond providing immediate financial assistance, as it would create a pathway for resources recovered from the past to be transformed into educational opportunities for future generations.
He said sustained investment in education remained critical to developing the skilled workforce required to drive economic growth and achieve Nigeria’s long-term development objectives.
