• I almost cried reading about mishandling of NELFUND, says UI ex-VC
• FUOYE denies involvement in illegal deduction

National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has called on the federal and state governments to remove heads of tertiary institutions that mismanaged the administration of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) students’ loan scheme.
 
This comes as the agency is set to meet with all Student Union Government (SUG) presidents of Nigerian campuses and NANS national executives in Abuja this Thursday.  Former Vice Chancellor of the University of Ibadan (UI), Prof Olufemi Bamiro, has expressed sadness over the mishandling of the disbursement of the NELFUND loan.
 
But the management of Federal University Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE), Ekiti State, denied involvement in illegal deduction of funds from the loans. The agency’s meeting with students is to discuss the implementation of the scheme and address concerns around alleged deductions by some tertiary institutions, double collection of institutional fees and refusal to refund NELFUND beneficiaries, conspiring with banks and withholding disbursement announcements with a view to making profits off the funds among other abuses. 
 
Speaking at a media parley in Abuja at the weekend, the newly-elected NANS President, Olushola Ladoja, said the actions of the institutions, if left unchecked, might tarnish President Bola Tinubu’s commitment to ensuring inclusive access to education through the loan scheme. 
 
He lauded the initiative, stressing that it would drastically reduce school dropouts and improve access to education for students from low-income backgrounds.
 
Ladoja disclosed that his team had earlier met with the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, and the Managing Director of NELFUND, Akintunde Sawyerr, to register their grievances.  
 
He said both leaders assured them that their complaints would be addressed. BAMIRO said he almost cried when he read the story about the mismanagement of the loan. In a chat with The Guardian in Ibadan, Oyo State, the former VC decried the development, lamenting the poor quality of leadership in every facet of life in Nigeria.
 
He said: “To run for some posts, I will recommend the minimum the person must have is to be a graduate; the person should be a solid graduate. There must be a minimum; that is the only thing the young ones can see that will make them take their education seriously, to enter political leadership.
 
“I almost cried when I read that NELFUND is being mishandled by universities. The government is still trying to help some of these pupils, then a university messes up with it. When we talk about leadership, people always look at the political leaders; even the academic sector needs to change. I am not happy as a former vice chancellor reading about a university messing around with NETFUND. So, we have a lot of work to do.”

THE NELFUND scheme was established in April 3, 2024, when Tinubu signed the Student Loans (Access to Higher Education) (Repeal and Re-enactment) Bill into law, to provide financial assistance to students in public tertiary institutions.
 
However, some Nigerian universities allegedly deducted funds meant for students under the scheme illegally. Specifically, no fewer than 51 tertiary institutions have been accused of allegedly scamming students by making unauthorised deductions from the NELFUND loans.
 
FUOYE was listed among over 50 institutions accused of illegally deducting ₦3,500 to ₦30,000 from the loans after receiving them.  But speaking on behalf of FUOYE management at the weekend, the Public Relations Officer, Foluso Ogunmodede, dismissed the allegations as false and an attempt to tarnish the university’s reputation. 
 
According to him, the university never engaged in any exploitation of students or unauthorised deductions from the disbursed loans. Ogunmodede stated that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had not traced any illegal NELFUND payments to the university’s accounts. 
 
He said: “Once the payment enters our account and is reconciled with the list of beneficiaries, we will begin refunds immediately, even as none of our fee structures is N124,000. The allegation is false, and nobody has contacted us.”