The Nigerian Education Loan Fund, commonly known as NELFUND, has announced an imminent plan to settle arrears totalling ₦927.98 million owed to 11,685 students who benefitted from its student loan and upkeep allowance scheme but have not received their full payments. The development follows an internal reconciliation exercise that identified the backlog after the completion of the 2024/2025 academic session. 
NELFUND’s Managing Director, Mr Akintunde Sawyerr, disclosed the figures at a media briefing in Abuja, explaining that the unpaid amounts stem not from policy failure but from a combination of technical and operational challenges. Issues cited include failed electronic transactions, network downtime affecting verification processes, and invalid or unvalidated bank account details provided by students at the time of their applications. 
According to officials, this backlog represents a fraction of the more than 864,000 students who have benefited from the Fund’s loan disbursements since it began operations. NELFUND reported that to date, over 1.36 million applications have been received with a cumulative disbursement value of approximately ₦161.97 billion, covering both tuition payments and upkeep allowances.
Executive Director of Operations at NELFUND, Mustapha Iyal, clarified that many of the delays were caused by incorrect banking information submitted during the application process, including wrong account numbers and duplicate details. He outlined a coordinated effort with tertiary institutions aimed at updating and verifying the records of affected students. The Fund has reportedly updated nearly 50 per cent of the outstanding student records, with plans to commence payment of the backlog shortly after finalising verification. 
Iyal also reiterated that the Fund’s application process is fully digitalised, linking student data with institutional databases for verification. Over 200 institutions have submitted updated student data for the current academic session, and additional expansions to the loan scheme are planned for the 2026–2027 academic year. 
Since its establishment, NELFUND has rolled out a nationwide student loan scheme designed to provide financial support for tuition and upkeep allowances to Nigerian students in tertiary institutions. The scheme’s digital portal has attracted extensive uptake. Official figures show that the Fund has received over a million applications and distributed large sums directly to students and institutions. 
Across recent reporting periods, NELFUND has variously indicated substantial disbursements. Earlier reports disclosed that disbursements reached tens of billions of naira covering hundreds of thousands of beneficiaries, illustrating both the programme’s reach and challenges in maintaining real-time efficiency in its operations. 
The planned clearance of arrears is expected to bring relief to students who have faced delays in receiving their upkeep allowances, which are crucial for coveringliving expenses. NELFUND’s emphasis on robust data validation and collaboration with institutions aims to minimise such delays in future disbursements. Students affected by the arrears have been urged to cooperate with their institutions and update their records where necessary to ensure prompt processing of funds.
Samuel Aina