The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, has suggested that some students may have accessed funding from the Nigerian Education Loan Fund without their parents’ knowledge.
Oyedele made the remark while responding to an audience member who said his three children in school had not received NELFUND funding and were unaware of any friends who had received the support.
Speaking at a media briefing in Abuja on Wednesday, the minister urged the man to ask his children whether they had applied for the scheme and to request proof of their applications.
“It is possible they’ve collected the money, and they are collecting from you,” he said.
“You need to ask your children to be honest with you.”
Oyedele said the man could also help his children apply if they had not already done so.
“If there’s anything that everyone can attest to, it is this NELFUND,” he said.
The minister pointed to videos of students celebrating after receiving the support, noting that the scheme covered more than tuition fees.
“We’ve seen video of student randomly rejoicing because it’s not only the tuition that was being paid, they get monthly stipend interest free in a high inflationary environment,” he said.
Oyedele said students could access up to N1.5m through the scheme and urged parents who were unsure about the process to help their children apply.
“You can go to the website. In fact, what you can do, ask any of those your three children to give you their details. Help them apply.
“If you can’t find the link, come to Ministry of Finance. We will help you. You will do it yourself. You apply for one of those three children and you get the amount,” he said.
The minister also said the journalist should confirm whether the children had actually applied for the scheme.
“The Honourable Minister is saying we should even ask you whether they’ve shown you the evidence that they applied. You need to go and ask them,” he said.
Oyedele further disclosed that NELFUND uptake was higher in the North than in the South, saying this was partly because Nigerians often doubt government programmes.
“Interestingly, the uptake is more in the North than in the South because we spend all our energy here doubting everything that government does,” he said.
He said the government’s experience with the scheme showed that beneficiaries had been receiving alerts after applying.
Oyedele also recalled supporting indigent students through his personal foundation, saying some beneficiaries still came back for help even after being directed to available support.
“Many of them were still coming to me after I said go and apply. I sent link to them within two weeks. They said we got alerts,” he said.