President Bola Tinubu has said that he ordered the release of N50 billion each to the Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) and the Nigerian Consumer Credit Corporation (CREDICORP) from the proceeds of crime recovered by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Tinubu said this in Abuja on Sunday while addressing the nation on the ongoing hunger protest.
This means that the two newly created agencies in charge of managing and providing credit got a total of N100 billion this week.
He said: “Our administration has shown its commitment to the youth by setting up the student loan scheme. To date, 45.6 billion Naira has already been processed for payment to students and their respective institutions.
“I encourage more of our vibrant youth population to take advantage of this opportunity. We established the Consumer Credit Corporation with over N200 billion to help Nigerians to acquire essential products without the need for immediate cash payments, making life easier for millions of households. This will consequently reduce corruption and eliminate cash and opaque transactions.
“This week, I ordered the release of an additional N50 billion Naira each for NELFUND – the student loan, and Credit Corporation from the proceeds of crime recovered by the EFCC.”
The Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Ola Olukoyede, recently disclosed that the Commission secured 3175 convictions and recovered N156.28 billion between May 29, 2023 and May 29, 2024, when President Bola Tinubu assumed office.
He also said that the EFCC recovered $43,835,214.24, £25,365.00, €186,947.10, ₹51,360.00, C$3,750.00, A$740.00, ¥74,754.00, R35,000.00, 42,390.00 UAE Dirhams, 247.00 Riyals and 21,580,867,631 Cryptocurrency.
The revised Student Loan Act 2024 was established to remove financial barriers and make education more accessible to all Nigerian students, regardless of their economic background.
The primary sources of funding for NELFUND include a percentage of taxes, levies, and duties collected by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Nigerian Immigration Service, and Nigerian Customs Service, amounting to 1% of their total revenues.
Also, the fund will receive contributions from the profits generated by the government’s natural resource exploitation, education bonds, endowment fund schemes, and donations from individuals and organizations.
The loans cover tuition, fees, and maintenance costs. The repayment process starts two years after the beneficiary completes the NYSC program.
The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) recently announced the ongoing disbursement of student loans, allocating a total of N2.5 billion to various institutions across the country. The student loan is expected to benefit 22,120 students across many institutions in the country.
It was also reported that six of the twelve institutions have received full payment of their institutional fees, covering over 20,000 students. The total amount disbursed to these institutions stands at approximately N2.02 billion. NELFUND said six other institutions will receive their payments in the coming week.
TheWitness earlier reported that the federal government included a N100 billion Consumer Credit Fund in the 2024 budget in response to the growing cost of living and increasing borrowing trends among Nigerians.
In April, President Bola Tinubu approved the launch of the first phase of the Consumer Credit Scheme in Nigeria, a programme designed to offer credit facilities to working citizens in the country.
The Nigerian Consumer Credit Corporation (CREDICORP) recently disclosed that a total of 151 financial institutions comprising commercial banks, fintechs, and Microfinance Banks have signed up to be part of its consumer credit scheme.
