The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has said that universities may have diverted N71.2 billion meant for students under the Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NELFUND).
The commission revealed that the Federal Government released N100 billion for the student loan scheme, but only N28.8 billion was disbursed to students in tertiary institutions.
ICPC spokesman Demola Bakare made this known on Thursday during a press briefing in Abuja.
Bakare said, “Preliminary findings revealed a significant gap in the financial records of the disbursement process. While the Federal Government reportedly released N100 billion for the scheme, only N28.8 billion was disbursed to students, leaving an unaccounted sum of N71.2 billion.”
He explained that the ICPC acted quickly once it received the report of possible fraud.
“The Commission confirmed that its Chairman’s Special Task Force immediately swung into action upon receiving the report,” he said.
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Bakare added that the ICPC invited several key officials for questioning. These include the Director-General of the Budget Office, the Accountant-General of the Federation, senior officials from the Central Bank of Nigeria, and top management of NELFUND.
The probe followed a public alarm raised two weeks ago by the Director-General of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), Lanre Issa-Onilu. He said that 51 universities had made illegal deductions from students’ loan disbursements and were trying to sabotage President Bola Tinubu’s student loan scheme.
Some institutions allegedly deducted between N3,500 and N30,000 from each student’s funds without approval.
Bakare further disclosed that the total amount received by NELFUND as of March 19, 2024, was N203.8 billion. The funds came from different sources, including N10 billion from the Federation Allocation Account Committee, N50 billion from the EFCC, and two separate allocations of N71.9 billion each from the Tertiary Education Trust Fund.
The ICPC found that, to date, about N44.2 billion has been disbursed to 299 institutions, benefiting over 293,000 students.
“There is a clear case of discrepancies in the administration of the student loan scheme. Our investigation will now focus on the institutions and individual students who received the funds,” Bakare said.
He assured the public that the ICPC would provide updates as the investigation continues.