NELFUND announces N116.2bn disbursed for student loans, faces N58.4bn budget for 2025

On Thursday, January 23, 2025, the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) revealed that as of January 1, 2025, it had disbursed a total of N116.184 billion in loans to support students across 176,252 institutions in Nigeria.

However, NELFUND has been allocated a budget of only N58.4 billion for the 2025 fiscal year, which is significantly lower than the amount spent in previous years. The Managing Director of NELFUND, Akintunde Sawyer, shared these details during a presentation to the National Assembly Joint Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TETFUND as part of the 2025 budget defense session.

Sawyer explained that out of the N116.184 billion disbursed, N37.7 billion was spent on loans for institutions. He also reported that 352,796 students applied for loans, but only 108,484 were approved.

For the 2025 budget, Sawyer detailed that N12.2 billion of the N58.4 billion will go toward personnel costs, N24.7 billion for overheads, and N21.4 billion for capital expenditure.

After reviewing the budget proposals, the joint committee, led by Senator Muntari Dandutse and Hon. Gboyega Isiaka, approved the budget through a voice vote.

Senator Dandutse emphasized the importance of transparency in how the funds will be used, saying, “We will examine NELFUND’s financial plan to ensure it aligns with national educational goals and meets the growing needs of students in our tertiary institutions.”