About 70 per cent of students of the University of Ibadan (UI) are benefiting from the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) student loan scheme, a 600-level student of the institution has said.

Olaiya Adewumi, a final-year Veterinary Medicine student of the university, disclosed this in an interview with Nigerian stand-up comedian and former Big Brother Naija (BBN) housemate, Dee-One, who visited the institution to find out whether students were benefiting from the Federal Government’s student loan initiative.

Adewumi, who hails from Ogun State, said she personally benefited from the scheme after applying in her final year, despite first hearing about the loan while she was in 400 level.

“Let me say 70 per cent of University of Ibadan students are actually benefiting from the NELFUND loan,” she said.

She also dismissed concerns that applicants needed connections to access the loan, saying the process was available online and could be completed without knowing anyone.

According to her, the N20,000 monthly upkeep allowance she receives has helped reduce the financial pressure of feeding, transportation, data subscriptions and other academic expenses.

Adewumi said the allowance had become particularly useful at a time when rising living costs were putting additional pressure on students.

She disclosed that she spends close to N100,000 monthly on feeding and other expenses, although she stressed that the figure was an approximation.

“It’s reduced the total expense, the total budget that was supposed to be spent on feeding and other stuff,” she said, adding that the allowance, though insufficient to cover her expenses, had helped ease the burden.

The final year called on the Fund to improve the timing of disbursements and increase the monthly upkeep allowance from N20,000 to between N30,000 and N40,000.

She said delays in accessing the loan could force students to visit NELFUND offices to resolve application issues, leading some to miss classes, laboratory sessions and clinical rotations.

“I would like to advise those in charge that they should ensure that this loan comes on time. They should make it early and they shouldn’t allow students to go through the stress of the application,” she said.

Adewumi added that increasing the allowance would “really go a long way” in helping students cope with rising expenses.

She also expressed appreciation to those behind the student loan initiative, saying it had already made a positive difference in the lives of students.

NELFUND was established by the Federal Government to provide interest-free loans and other financial support to eligible students in tertiary institutions, including upkeep allowances to help beneficiaries meet their living expenses.

Checks on the NELFUND dashboard revealed that as of August 8, 2026, 1,659,853 applications had been processed, with 319 institutions benefiting from the scheme, while N192.89 billion had been paid as institutional fees and N129.80 billion disbursed as upkeep allowances, bringing the total loan disbursement since the launch of the NELFUND Student Loan Portal on May 24, 2024, to N322.69 billion.