CHANNEL APPROVED FUNDS TO INDIGENT STUDENTS, OLUKOYEDE TELLS NELFUND

CHANNEL APPROVED FUNDS TO INDIGENT STUDENTS, OLUKOYEDE TELLS NELFUND

The Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr Ola Olukoyede, has urged the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) to ensure that funds approved by the Federal Government for student loans get directly to the intended beneficiaries, while strengthening measures to prevent diversion and other financial crimes.

Olukoyede gave the charge on Wednesday, September 23, 2026, in Abuja during the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the EFCC and NELFUND at the Commission’s corporate headquarters. The agreement is aimed at strengthening collaboration, preventing financial infractions and ensuring accountability in the management and disbursement of proceeds of crime allocated for educational support.

The EFCC Chairman described NELFUND as one of the major legacy projects of the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led administration and commended its management for expanding access to education financing. He said the EFCC’s mandate goes beyond recovering proceeds of crime to ensuring that recovered funds are put to productive use for the benefit of Nigerians.

Under the MoU, the two institutions will establish a joint Fraud Assessment and Control Unit to strengthen compliance, assess risks and identify vulnerabilities in NELFUND’s processes. Olukoyede stressed that the partnership should prioritise prevention rather than waiting until funds are stolen before action is taken.

He urged NELFUND to explore mechanisms for direct disbursement to verified beneficiaries, with educational institutions playing a role in authenticating students’ identities. “Let it go directly to the human beings,” he said, emphasising the need to ensure that recovered funds reach the people for whom they are intended.

Olukoyede said the welfare of young Nigerians was central to the EFCC’s interest in supporting NELFUND, noting that a substantial proportion of persons investigated for cybercrime are young people, including students. He said using recovered proceeds of crime to support education could help address vulnerabilities that may expose young people to economic crimes.

He further advised NELFUND to access only funds legitimately due to it and ensure that such resources are applied promptly for their intended purposes. He expressed confidence that the MoU would strengthen risk assessment, accountability and safeguards capable of protecting the programme beyond the tenure of the current leadership of both institutions.

Earlier, NELFUND Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Akintunde Sawyer, commended the EFCC for its support and preventive approach to economic crimes, saying the collaboration had helped the Fund strengthen standards of transparency and accountability in the management of its resources.