The management of Ekiti State University (EKSU), Ado Ekiti, has dismissed allegations that it is withholding tuition fee refunds from students whose fees were paid through the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) after they had already settled their tuition.
In a statement issued on Thursday by Gbenga Oluwajana on behalf of the Deputy Registrar and Head of the Directorate of Information and Corporate Affairs, the university said it has been consistently refunding eligible students whose tuition fees were later covered by NELFUND.
According to the statement, the institution has never withheld refunds and remains committed to supporting the successful implementation of the Federal Government’s student loan programme.
“The university has been diligently refunding eligible students whose tuition fees were subsequently paid by NELFUND. We therefore refute claims suggesting that EKSU has withheld refunds due to eligible students,” the statement read.
The clarification follows allegations by the President of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Babatunde Akinteye, who listed EKSU among institutions that had received NELFUND tuition payments on behalf of qualified students but had yet to reimburse those who had paid their fees before the loan disbursement.
However, EKSU explained that the refund exercise is still in progress and is being conducted in batches in line with established administrative procedures.
The university noted that the few outstanding cases involve discrepancies relating to students’ NELFUND dashboard, payment records, or bank account details.
It advised affected students to visit the NELFUND Desk Office or the university’s Bursary Department for verification, confirmation of their bank details, and resolution of any outstanding issues to enable the processing of their refunds.
