The Presidency has clarified that no beneficiary of the Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has reached the stage of loan repayment, urging Nigerians to ignore claims suggesting otherwise.
President Bola Tinubu’s Special Assistant on Social Media, Mr Dada Olusegun, made the clarification in a post on his official X handle on Saturday, noting that the repayment timeline under the scheme has not commenced for any applicant.
According to him, repayment is structured to begin only after a two-year moratorium following the completion of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).
“As it stands, the scheme will be two years old in March 2026 from when the first applications were submitted, and not a single beneficiary would have reached the repayment stage. Any information suggesting otherwise should be disregarded,” Dada stated.
He also shared a video message by the Managing Director of NELFUND, Mr Akintunde Sawyerr, who described the loan recovery process as transparent, fair and technology-driven.
Sawyerr explained that repayment responsibility largely rests with the employers of beneficiaries once they secure paid employment, stressing that the system was designed to avoid placing undue pressure on graduates.
“We have a global standing instruction mechanism to recover funds from defaulters who attempt to evade repayment,” he said, adding that self-employed beneficiaries would be required to make repayments directly.
Addressing public concerns, the NELFUND boss dismissed reports of travel restrictions linked to the loan scheme, stressing that beneficiaries remain free to travel and pursue opportunities anywhere in the world.
“The loan does not make anyone a slave to government. People are free to live their lives, build careers and travel. When they begin earning, the expectation is that they contribute back to sustain the scheme for future students,” Sawyerr explained.
He further noted that repayment, expected to commence in the third year after NYSC, would be deducted at a rate of 10 per cent of the beneficiary’s income, primarily through employers.
The NELFUND initiative is part of the Federal Government’s broader strategy to expand access to tertiary education and ensure sustainable funding for students from low-income backgrounds.
