According to the ICPC, N71.2 billion out of the N100 billion designated for student loans is unaccounted for, as the ICPC invited the Director-General of the Budget Office, the AGF, and the Executive Director of NELFUND to provide documentation and explanations for the case.
The anti-corruption agency has revealed that their initial investigations have discovered that at least N71.2 billion has been misappropriated by the administrations of various universities responsible for managing the funds.
The commission’s spokesperson, Demola Bakare, addressed reporters in Abuja, said,
“The Commission confirmed that its Chairman’s Special Task Force immediately swung into action upon receiving the report.
“Letters of investigation and invitations were dispatched to key stakeholders, including the Director-General of the Budget Office, the Accountant General of the Federation, and senior officials from the Central Bank of Nigeria.
“Additionally, the Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of NELFUND were invited to provide documentation and explanations relevant to the case.
“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.”
“The breakdown showed that N10 Billion was an allocation from the Federation Allocation Account Committee, N50 billion was from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, N71.9B was from the Tertiary Education Trust Fund, while another N71.9 billion was also from the same Tertiary Education Trust Fund.
“To date, the total amount disbursed to 299 beneficiary institutions stands at approximately N44.2 billion, with 293,178 students having benefited from the fund.
“The ICPC confirmed that a clear case of discrepancies has been established in the administration of the student loan scheme and announced that its investigation will now extend to beneficiary institutions and individual student recipients.
“Comprehensive investigations into the alleged discrepancies surrounding the disbursement of students’ loans under the Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has commenced.”
The Director-General of the National Orientation Agency, Lanre Issa-Onilu, recently issued a warning, suggesting that universities might be attempting to undermine the Tinubu-led government’s efforts concerning the student loan program.
Issa-Onilu claimed that at least 51 higher education institutions were involved in unauthorized deductions and exploitation concerning the NELFUND scheme. He urged anti-corruption agencies to investigate the fraud and put a stop to it.
~Imranmudhz