The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has launched an investigation into 34 tertiary institutions over allegations that they failed to refund students whose tuition fees were paid twice under the Federal Government’s student loan scheme.
NELFUND Managing Director, Akintunde Sawyerr, disclosed this during an interview with ARISE NEWS on Sunday, revealing that the agency began the probe after receiving a surge of petitions from affected students. He said NELFUND is working with anti-corruption agencies, the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), internal auditors and other relevant stakeholders to investigate the allegations.
“I can tell you that there are about 34 institutions that we are looking at at the moment because of the number of petitions we’ve received,” Sawyerr said.
According to him, the issue stemmed from the mid-session rollout of the Federal Government’s student loan programme. Many students had already paid their tuition fees before NELFUND later disbursed payments to their institutions, resulting in duplicate payments.
“A lot of schools received double payments—one from the students and another from us. The institutions that received those funds are responsible for refunding the students,” he explained.
Sawyerr noted that many affected students urgently need the refunds because they or their parents borrowed money to pay school fees before the loan scheme took effect.
“Most students are financially stretched. Many borrowed money, while others relied on loans taken by their parents. They naturally expect those funds to be refunded,” he said.
While praising some institutions for promptly processing refunds, he said others have failed to do so.
“Some institutions have handled the refunds responsibly, while others have not. I won’t immediately assume it was intentional because, in some cases, they simply lacked an effective refund process,” he added.
To prevent similar issues in the future, Sawyerr disclosed that NELFUND is developing a tokenised payment system that will allow students to authorise tuition payments electronically using their mobile phones.
He explained that the agency deliberately pays tuition fees directly to institutions rather than students to minimise the risk of loan diversion.
Sawyerr, however, admitted that NELFUND lacks the legal authority to compel institutions to issue refunds or prosecute those responsible.
“We don’t have powers of arrest or prosecution. Our hands are tied in that regard,” he said.
He added that many frustrated students have also reported the matter to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
According to him, one of the ongoing investigations involves a five-member team made up of NELFUND officials, internal auditors, anti-corruption personnel, EFCC representatives and officials of NANS.
Sawyerr also revealed that NELFUND has refused to pay institutions that increased tuition fees beyond acceptable limits after the student loan scheme was introduced.
“Some schools began raising their fees because payments became easier. We refused, point blank, to pay institutions that hiked their fees beyond a certain level,” he stated.
He assured students that every complaint would be thoroughly investigated, stressing that the agency remains committed to ensuring transparency, accountability and the protection of beneficiaries under the student loan programme.
