ICPC investigates reported students’ loan scandal

ICPC investigates reported students’ loan scandal

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has launched an investigation into the management of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND).

The probe followed an alarm raised two weeks ago by the Director-General (DG) of the National Orientation Agency, Lanre Issa-Onilu, that the universities were trying to sabotage the Tinubu-led government on the students’ loan scheme.

He said anti-corruption agencies in the country had been alerted to scrutinise activities of some tertiary institutions that were “colluding with banks to sabotage the student loan scheme”.

The development came after an earlier alarm raised by the NELFUND accusing some higher education institutions of withholding information about student loan disbursements from beneficiaries.

Akintunde Sawyerr, managing director of NELFUND, said they discovered that some institutions were failing to notify students when loan payments are made.

He added that these institutions were still demanding fee payments from the affected students, causing confusion.

Sawyerr described the practice as “unethical” and a “direct violation” of NELFUND’s principles and warned that legal action would be taken against any institution found to be engaging in such “deceptive practices”.

He called on all institutions to be transparent and work with the fund to ensure the loan scheme’s success.

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In a follow up to NELFUND action, the NOA through its Deputy Director of Communications and Media, Paul Odenyi, said its investigation confirmed the development.

He said the action raised “serious concerns over transparency and accountability in the new student loan scheme”.

Quoting its DG, Mallam Issa-Onilu, NOA said the report was based on findings by Community Orientation and Mobilisation Officers (COMO) across the country.

In an interview on Arise Television, Issa-Onilu said the affected higher institutions were under the radar of anti-graft agencies.

“We also heard of some schools that charge some fees, processing or so-called fees, for the students to access the funds. Something that you played no role in.

“We see a lot of students complaining that it is only after they have made payment that they discover that NELFUND has paid for the tuition. And schools did not inform them.

“We had to relate to NELFUND, and we found out it was not news to NELFUND, and NELFUND was actually dealing with the issues already.

“As I speak, the anti-corruption agencies have been put on notice by NELFUND. Now, students can track from application to disbursement by themselves; schools cannot do that anymore.

“It is so sad that any institution would be involved in this kind of thing. It is like sabotaging the citizens; let’s not even talk about the government. It is about sabotaging ourselves,” he stated.

The scheme

It would be recalled that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu enacted an initial version of the student loan policy in June 2023 to grant interest-free loans to students.

The scheme was to commence in October 2023, but implementation was repeatedly deferred until a re-enactment in April 2024.

NELFUND opened the loan application portal in May 2024, at which time a pilot phase to serve federal tertiary institutions began.

Reports indicate that some students experienced delays in the disbursement of funds, even after being approved.

There have also been inconsistencies reported in the amounts disbursed compared to actual school fees, creating confusion about repayment obligations.

ICPC investigates reported students’ loan scandal