The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has ruled out publishing the names of students benefiting from its loan scheme, citing data protection concerns and the need to protect borrowers from embarrassment and possible targeting.

The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the fund, Akintunde Sawyerr, said NELFUND would only disclose the institutions that received payments and the number of beneficiaries, while keeping individual identities confidential.

Speaking in an interview with The PUNCH, Sawyerr said students who borrowed money to finance their education should not have their financial circumstances made public.

NELFUND Disburses N375.28bn

Since the launch of its student loan portal on May 24, 2024, the fund has disbursed N375.28bn as of November 9, 2026.

The amount comprises N194.77bn in institutional fees and N180.50bn in upkeep allowances, covering 1,675,474 student loans across 320 beneficiary institutions.

Explaining why the identities of beneficiaries would remain private, Sawyerr said, “There are data protection issues. If you borrow money from an institution or you borrow money from me, you don’t want to see it on a notice board or to see it on television that you borrowed money from me.

“Some people are embarrassed by taking loans. Also, some people don’t want to be targeted, so we’re never going to publish the names of individual beneficiaries.”

Loans to Remain Interest-Free

On whether the loans would attract interest in the future, the NELFUND boss said the fund had no immediate plans to introduce interest charges.

“At the moment, we have decided that we don’t want to have interest on the loans. When we consider it necessary to do that, we’ll have a discussion. It’s an interest-free loan. Nigerians deserve an interest-free loan,” he said.

He also opposed calls for the loans to be converted into grants, arguing that beneficiaries at the tertiary education level were adults who understood their financial obligations and should repay after securing employment.

Fund Explains Loan Recovery Plans

Addressing concerns about the sustainability of the scheme, Sawyerr said loan recovery was only one of several funding sources available to NELFUND.

He identified investments, donations and statutory allocations as other sources of financing, adding that some beneficiaries had already begun repaying their loans.

He also said the fund was entitled to 15 per cent of the four per cent development levy, which provides statutory support for its operations.

According to him, educating and empowering more young Nigerians would eventually expand the country’s tax base and provide additional resources for funding education.

New System to Prevent Double Payments

Sawyerr also explained that NELFUND introduced a tokenisation system to prevent double payment of tuition fees and give students greater control over transactions.

Under the previous arrangement, approved tuition fees were paid directly into institutions’ accounts, while upkeep allowances were provided separately to beneficiaries.

However, the system sometimes resulted in double payments when students had already paid their fees before NELFUND transferred the money to their institutions.

The new system allows students to receive electronic tokens on their phones and authorise payments directly to their respective institutions.

Sawyerr said the tokens could only be used to pay the institution to which a student had been admitted, preventing the funds from being diverted.

NELFUND Introduces Fee Dispute Feature

The fund’s chief executive also said NELFUND would not finance tuition fees it considered excessive, following concerns about fee increases by some institutions.

He disclosed that a price dispute feature had been introduced on the new portal, allowing students to challenge fees before applying for loans.

However, he said NELFUND lacked the legal authority to penalise institutions over fee increases and could only withdraw financial support where necessary.

He identified the National Universities Commission, National Board for Technical Education and National Commission for Colleges of Education as the agencies responsible for regulating the affected institutions.