Tinubu Meets Jim Ovia, NELFUND CEO at Aso Rock as Student Loans Hit ₦303bn

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Jim Ovia and Akintunde Sawyerr

Tinubu Meets Jim Ovia, NELFUND CEO at Aso Rock as Student Loans Hit ₦303bn

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Tuesday held a closed-door meeting with the founder of Zenith Bank, Jim Ovia, and the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) , Akintunde Sawyerr, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. The purpose of the meeting was not officially disclosed as of the time of filing this report. Ovia and Sawyerr arrived at the State House at about 5:15 p.m. on Tuesday. Ovia was dressed in a black suit with a red tie as both officials proceeded into the Presidential Villa for the meeting. Their arrival came amid the continued expansion of the Federal Government’s student loan programme, which has become one of the administration’s flagship social intervention initiatives. Tinubu had appointed Ovia as Chairman of the NELFUND Board on April 26, 2024, shortly after signing the Access to Higher Education Act (Repeal and Re-Enactment) Act into law, which established Nigeria’s interest-free student loan scheme. Sawyerr was appointed the pioneer Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the fund on April 5, 2024, and has overseen the implementation of the initiative since its launch.

The meeting comes as NELFUND continues to record significant growth in its disbursements. According to the fund, total loan disbursements have exceeded ₦303.9 billion to 1,635,676 beneficiaries from 1,800,489 applications as of July 4, 2026. The fund has disbursed to over 315 institutions nationwide, covering both institutional fees and upkeep allowances for students. Between May 5 and July 3, 2026, an additional N21.71 billion was disbursed to beneficiaries, lifting total payments under the programme to N303.91 billion. Institutional fee payments rose by N6.15 billion during the period, from N183.91 billion to N190.06 billion, while disbursements for students’ upkeep allowances increased by N15.56 billion, climbing from N98.29 billion to N113.85 billion. The fund also announced on July 9 that it released an additional ₦1.5 billion to 6,129 students across three tertiary institutions for the 2025/2026 academic session. The fund has cleared outstanding June and July 2026 upkeep allowances, with each eligible student receiving ₦40,000 to cover the two-month backlog. The delay in monthly upkeep payments had generated concerns among beneficiaries, prompting the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) to intervene.

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Tuesday’s meeting followed Ovia’s recent endorsement of the student loan initiative, in which he described it as a transformative intervention that has enabled thousands of Nigerians to access higher education. Speaking during a recent interview on Channels Television, the NELFUND Board chairman praised Tinubu for establishing the scheme and dismissed claims that it was being abused. “Yes, NELFUND definitely is addressing access to education, and we are glad that Bola Tinubu has introduced that by setting up NELFUND — Nigeria Education Loan Fund — and it’s a very encouraging initiative,” Ovia said. He added, “No, it’s not being abused at all because without the Nigeria Education Loan Fund, many students wouldn’t have gone to university at all. And also, they are being encouraged to have some stipend to pay their school fees. So, it’s not being abused; it’s being encouraged.” Ovia urged beneficiaries to maximise the opportunity provided by the Federal Government. “Without NELFUND, they wouldn’t have gone to the university at all. So, they should be encouraged to take the opportunity to go to university and graduate, and they will get jobs,” he said.

Ovia, who retired as Founder and Group Chairman of Zenith Bank in May, remains active in education through the Jim Ovia Foundation and as founder and chancellor of James Hope University in Lagos. He became the bank’s chairman on July 16, 2014, after previously serving as its founder and Group Managing Director/CEO from 1990 to 2010. After his retirement, the bank described Ovia’s tenure as marked by strong leadership, strategic direction, and effective board oversight. The NELFUND Board chairman is an alumnus of Harvard Business School and holds a Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Louisiana. President Tinubu, upon appointing Ovia, expressed confidence that he would bring his immense wealth of experience and professional stature to advance the vision of ensuring that no Nigerian student suffers a capricious end to their pursuit of higher education over a lack of funds.

Akintunde Sawyerr, who has served as NELFUND’s pioneer Managing Director since April 2024, has described the initiative as a game-changer for Nigerian education. Speaking previously, he revealed that the fund receives an average of 6,000 to 7,000 applications daily, underscoring the growing demand for the scheme among Nigerian students. Sawyerr has emphasised that the scheme is designed to be transparent and accessible to all eligible students. “For the first time in Nigeria—or certainly the first time in a very long time—people are starting to believe that you can actually benefit from government policies without knowing anybody. The system is totally agnostic to who you know. All you have to do is provide the right credentials, apply online, and you don’t need the help of anybody to be able to access this,” he said. He explained that President Tinubu established NELFUND to ensure that no Nigerian is denied access to quality tertiary education due to poverty or lack of funds. “Education is one of the topmost priorities of President Bola Tinubu. The President believes that education is the greatest weapon against poverty and so he doesn’t want any Nigerian to be deprived of having a qualitative tertiary education due to financial difficulties, hence the establishment of NELFUND,” Sawyerr said. The National Assembly and NELFUND have announced plans to expand the student loan scheme from 1.6 million beneficiaries to seven million students nationwide. The initiative includes incorporating Skills Acquisition, Technical, and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) into the scheme, which could ultimately uplift an estimated 50 million citizens indirectly. The meeting at the State House is expected to focus on the progress of the scheme and efforts to further expand access to higher education for Nigerian students.