The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) contributed N50bn to support the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND).
This donation was announced on Tuesday, August 13, 2024, during a courtesy visit to the EFCC headquarters in Abuja by NELFUND’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Akintunde Sawyerr, and his management team.
Sawyerr highlighted that NELFUND, an endeavor of President Bola Tinubu’s administration, aims to provide financial support for the education of underprivileged students. In a statement from the EFCC’s website, Sawyerr expressed his appreciation for the donation,
“We are aware of the funds from the proceeds of crime extended to NELFUND. We are here to express our gratitude for the gesture. We also want the EFCC to exercise oversight on what we are doing”.
He emphasized that, ” youths constitute the most populous, restive but neglected segment of our population. President Tinubu identified this as a major problem and put in place a major solution to address the issue.”
Chairman of EFCC, Ola Olukoyede has praised President Tinubu’s scheme describing it as, ” policy issue against crime.”
He noted that the lack to educational support from parents can drive children towards financial crimes, stating, ” One of the main incentives for cybercrimes is the inability of parents to fund the education of their children. NELFUND is a policy issue against crimes. President Tinubu should be commended for initiating the Fund.”
He also cautioned against signing documents that are unclear or succumbing to any undue pressure, emphasizing that there should be no “money to share.”
Olukoyede has however encouraged Nigerians to collaboratively support the success of NELFUND and the Tinubu-led administration.
Tinubu signed the Student Loans (Access to Higher Education) Act (Repeal and Re-Enactment) Bill, 2024, into law on April 3, 2024.
The programme’s registration began in May, with 1.2 million students in federal tertiary institutions enrolled in the first batch.
On Wednesday, August 7, 2024, NELFUND announced what it described as a significant milestone, receiving the highest number of student loan applications within 24 hours since the launch of its portal on May 25, 2024.
