February 8, 2025
Nigerian students currently benefitting from the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, NELFUND, are not obligated to start repayment until two years after their National Youth Service Corp, NYSC.
The Managing Director/CEO of NELFUND, Mr. Akintunde Sawyerr, stated this while featuring on a television News program.
He explained that this term applies to those who have managed to secure a job and the repayment requirements are on their employers.
Sawyerr, noted that while the employer would be deducting and remitting 10% of the employee’s monthly salary to the Fund, those who are self-employed would repay the loans themselves
Highlighting the duty of employers of Nigerians who have collected study loans and the repayment process, Sawyerr said:
READ MORE; NYSC DG, Promise Corps Members N77,000 Monthly Allowance From February 2025.
“Two years after completion of their NYSC, there is a requirement for the loans to be paid back, but the requirement to pay the loan back is on the employer.
“For those who have managed to secure jobs, the employer goes to a database, he or she checks the name and the NIN number of the person who they’re about to employ.
“Then they contact NELFUN and say we’re about to employ this person and we’re going to start making deductions from their salary to the NELFUND.
“That deduction is 10% of that individual’s salary. At no point is the obligation on the individual to pay back themselves.”
Sawyer, pointed out that anyone unemployed after NYSC is not under any obligation to repay the loans pending when such a person is employed.
He explained that the law that established NELFUND does not allow it to provide loans for Nigerian students in private higher institutions, but that President Bola Tinubu is considering extending it to them in the future.
“For now, we only give loans to students of public institutions because the law doesn’t allow us to give loans to private institutions.
READ MORE; FG to open student loan application portal May 24
“However, I’m very aware that His Excellency President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has indicated that he would like, at some point in the future, to capture all,” he said.
The NELFUND boss, said students of 150 public institutions comprising federal and state-owned schools have benefitted from the loans.
President Bola Tinubu, signed into law the bill established NELFUND on April 3, 2024, marking a historic step towards ensuring sustainable higher education and functional skill development for Nigerian students.
The primary objective is to provide financial support to qualified Nigerians for tuition, fees, and living expenses at approved tertiary and vocational institutions within Nigeria.
NELFUND, earlier this month, disclosed in a statement that it had disbursed a total of N20 billion for institutional fees, benefiting no fewer than 192,906 students across various tertiary institutions in the country as of February 3, 2025.
The Fund, stated that about 169,114 students had benefitted from it monthly stipend disbursement, amounting to N12.8 billion with each student receiving N20,000
