The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has identified ₦927.98 million in unpaid student upkeep allowances owed to 11,685 beneficiaries after a reconciliation exercise covering the 2024/2025 academic session.
The disclosure was made on Tuesday in Abuja by NELFUND’s Managing Director, Akintunde Sawyerr, while briefing journalists on the progress, impact, and operational challenges of the federal student loan scheme.
According to Sawyerr, the unpaid amounts were not the result of policy failure or deliberate withholding of funds, but stemmed largely from technical and operational issues, including failed transactions, network downtime, and unvalidated or incorrect bank account details submitted by students.
Scale of applications and disbursements
Sawyerr said the student loan programme has recorded significant uptake since its launch, reflecting strong demand across Nigeria’s tertiary education sector.
“As of today, 1,361,011 applications have been received, 864,798 students have benefited so far, and total disbursement stands at ₦161.97 billion,” he said.
He broke down the figure to show that ₦89.94 billion was paid directly to 263 tertiary institutions for tuition and institutional charges, while ₦72.03 billion was disbursed directly to students as upkeep allowances.
According to him, these numbers demonstrate the tangible impact of the scheme in easing financial pressures on students and their families, while expanding access to higher education.
Why the arrears occurred
On the identified ₦927.98 billion arrears, Sawyerr explained that a post-session review revealed that thousands of students did not receive their upkeep payments due to operational lapses rather than funding gaps.
“After the 2024/2025 academic session, it was revealed that 11,685 students had outstanding upkeep payments amounting to ₦927.98 million,” he said.
He added that management has approved a one-off reconciliation process that includes direct engagement with affected students, a grace period to update bank details, multi-layer validation checks, and immediate payment once verification is concluded.
Data validation underway
Also speaking at the briefing, the Executive Director of Operations at NELFUND, Mustapha Iyal, said the unpaid upkeep cases represent only a small fraction of beneficiaries from the more than 400,000 students covered during the 2024/2025 academic year.
He noted that many of the issues arose from incorrect or incomplete data submitted during application, prompting the fund to formally engage tertiary institutions to validate student records.
According to Iyal, feedback has already been received from over 100 institutions, and payment of the outstanding upkeep allowances is expected to commence shortly once verification is completed.
He also disclosed that applications for the 2025/2026 academic session opened in November 2025, with more than 200 institutions submitting student data. This has resulted in about 280,000 applications, with loan disbursements already reaching over 150,000 students.
On repayments, Iyal said the process has begun, as some beneficiaries who have graduated and secured employment have started repaying their loans in line with programme guidelines.
Strengthening the scheme
Sawyerr said NELFUND is also deepening partnerships with philanthropists, corporate organisations, and government agencies to enhance funding sustainability. He cited a ₦20 billion collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Education focused on Technical and Vocational Education and Training.
He added that recent reforms—such as amendments to the student loan law, removal of guarantor requirements, inclusion of upkeep allowances, and the fund’s ability to raise and invest resources—have strengthened the long-term viability of the scheme.
What you should know
NELFUND’s student loan programme continues to gain traction, with more than 200 tertiary institutions submitting updated student data for the 2025/2026 academic session. According to earlier reports, the University of Maiduguri led in applications, followed by Bayero University Kano, Federal University Dutsin-Ma, Ahmadu Bello University, and the University of Ilorin.
Sawyerr clarified that students of private universities are currently excluded due to high tuition costs, limited data on financial capacity, and funding constraints, but stressed that they are not permanently excluded from the programme.
Emmanuel Bassey is a Financial Expert that has worked in the Banking and Finance Industry for over 15+ years across different banks in Nigeria
