FEC approves transfer of unclaimed dividends, N25b support for National Library

President Bola Tinubu has directed that all liquid funds recovered by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) be channelled to the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFund) to strengthen student loan financing and ensure the scheme’s sustainability.

The Minister of Education, Dr Maruf Tunji Alausa, disclosed this yesterday while briefing State House correspondents on the outcome of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting in Abuja.

According to Alausa, the President also secured FEC approval for unclaimed dividends in the Capital Market Trust Fund and the Dormant Account Trust Fund to be channelled to NELFund, subject to the necessary legal processes.

He said Tinubu directed the Ministers of Finance and the Attorney-General of the Federation, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, the Debt Management Office and other relevant agencies, to work out the modalities for transferring the funds.

Alausa clarified that the directive applied to recovered liquid funds, not seized property.

He said the Attorney-General would work with the EFCC chairman to review the legal framework governing the relevant trust funds and determine how the recovered money could be lawfully transferred to NELFund.

The minister said the development would place NELFund on a stronger financial footing as its obligations continue to expand.

According to him, more than 1.2 million Nigerian students are benefiting from NELFund, while the agency has disbursed over N93 billion in stipends to students in public tertiary institutions across the country.

NELFund, he added, had also disbursed more than N250 billion in institutional fees to public tertiary institutions at both federal and state levels.

Alausa described the development as a fulfilment of one of Tinubu’s campaign promises, recalling that the President had pledged to ensure the passage and implementation of the student loan legislation within six months of assuming office.

The minister also disclosed that the FEC approved the transformation of the existing Suleja Academy into an autonomous Nigerian Academy for Gifted and Talented Children.

He said the institution, originally established to identify and nurture gifted Nigerian children, had not been operating in line with its original mandate.

Under the new arrangement, he said, the academy would have its own board and governing council, while its funding sources would be broadened to include appropriations, endowments and donations.

He added that the Council approved the preparation of an executive bill by the Attorney-General for transmission to the National Assembly to give legal backing to the new academy.