The announcement was made on Thursday in a statement by the Director, Strategic Communications, NELFUND, Mrs Oseyemi Oluwatuyi.

She explained that the extension applied strictly to institutions that submitted official requests to NELFUND for additional time to enable their eligible students complete their applications on the NELFUND Student Loan Portal.

She said speaking on the development, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of NELFUND, Akintunde Sawyerr, reaffirmed the Fund’s commitment to ensuring access to the student loan programme for all eligible Nigerian students.

“NELFUND remains committed to ensuring that eligible students across participating institutions have the opportunity to access the student loan programme.”

She stated that NELFUND encouraged all eligible students in the affected institutions to take advantage of the extension and complete their applications via the official NELFUND portal.

The Fund, according to her, remained committed to transparency, accountability, and delivering sustainable student financing solutions that removed financial barriers to higher education in Nigeria.

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The extension was announced on Monday in a press statement by its Director, Strategic Communications, Mrs Oseyemi Oluwatuyi.

The action, she said, followed a significant increase in awareness and nationwide demand generated by its ongoing sensitisation campaign.

“This decision follows a reminder notice issued last week informing the public that the NELFUND Student Loan Application Portal would close on 27 February 2026.

“In response to strong feedback from students and key stakeholders across the country, and in recognition of the surge in applications and inquiries, the Fund has approved some additional days to ensure all eligible students are given adequate opportunity to complete their applications, pending further management decisions and communications,” the statement reads in part.

NELFUND stated that the extension was specifically intended to accommodate:

• Students who require additional time to complete their applications
• Prospective applicants who became aware of the scheme during the recent nationwide sensitization engagements
• Institutions newly commencing their 2025/2026 academic session
• Institutions who have not yet submitted their verified student lists.

The Managing Director/Chief Executive of NELFUND, Mr Akintunde Sawyerr, was said to have reaffirmed the Fund’s commitment to inclusivity and equitable access.

“Our sensitization efforts across the six geopolitical zones have significantly increased awareness and participation. Therefore, in line with our mandate to expand access to tertiary education financing, we have approved an extension to ensure that all eligible students have a fair and equal opportunity to apply,” he said.

NELFUND reiterated that institutions which had not yet commenced the 2025/2026 academic session must submit an official request for extension, accompanied by their approved academic calendar, for consideration.

Students, it stated, were strongly encouraged to take advantage of the window to complete their applications via the official NELFUND portal before it eventually closed.

The statement reads further: “NELFUND remains committed to transparency, accountability, and the delivery of sustainable student financing solutions that remove financial barriers to higher education in Nigeria.

“For further inquiries or information, please contact us via email at info@nelf.gov.ng or reach out through our official social media platforms:

• X(Twitter): nelfund
• Instagram: nelfund
• Facebook & LinkedIn: Nigerian Education Loan Fund – NELFUND
• Website: www.nelf.gov.ng.”

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The post Again, NELFUND extends students loan application deadline appeared first on Frontpageng.

This is contained in a statement made available to newsmen in Abuja on Thursday by the Fund’s Director, Strategic Communications, Oseyemi Oluwatuyi.

Oluwatuyi said the extension was aimed at giving prospective applicants additional time to complete and submit their applications, ensuring that no eligible student was excluded due to timing constraints.

Speaking on the extension, the Managing Director of NELFUND, Mr Akintunde Sawyerr, said the extension reflected the Fund’s commitment to inclusivity and access.

“We understand that some applicants may require additional time to complete their submissions, and this decision ensures that every eligible Nigerian student has a fair opportunity to benefit from the Fund,” he said.

He encouraged all prospective applicants who were yet to apply or complete their applications to take advantage of the extended deadline, while ensuring that all required information was submitted on or before February 27.

He added that further information and updates would continue to be shared through NELFUND’s official communication channels via email at info@nelf.gov.ng.

Other channels are: X(Twitter): @nelfund, Instagram: @nelfund, Facebook & LinkedIn: Nigerian Education Loan Fund – NELFUND and its Website: www.nelf.gov.ng.

Source: NAN

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In an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, in Abuja, Sawyerr said that paying tuition for students who had not registered or matriculated could result in large-scale financial losses for the Fund.

“If we pay fees for students that have not entered, what if they change their minds and they don’t go to the schools anymore?

“We cannot just say because somebody has been admitted to a school, and we will pay the fees before registering or matriculating,” he said.

According to him, doing so would amount to disbursing against intention, a practice he warned could be financially risky for the government.

“If we carry on like that, we could end up disbursing billions of naira, only to find out that they have dropped out, got admission to a school outside the country, gone to another school, or not doing that course again,” he said.

The managing director added that another key challenge was the school admission process, where students needed a matriculation number to access the loan.

To resolve this, he said NELFUND was working closely with tertiary institutions to find a temporary solution, possibly allowing students to use their Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB, registration numbers as a substitute for matriculation numbers.

“There are many genuine students who have applied and they need matriculation number to be able to process their fees.

“The challenge is that they cannot get their matriculation number until they have matriculated and they cannot matriculate until they have paid.

“We are trying to work with the schools to see how those who have registered, can use their JAMB registration number, as a substitute,” he added.

The Managing Director also reflected on the Fund’s journey since its establishment, noting that several challenges had to be addressed before its operations could begin.

He recalled that the first law establishing NELFUND, signed on June 12, 2023, had several flaws, including the requirement for guarantors and income limits that excluded many households.

“One of the flaws was the requirement for a guarantor, which we saw as a difficult position to put students in;

“If you need a guarantor, it means that you need to go out and plead with somebody or pay somebody.

“The second was that, the 2023 Act stated that any family that had a household income in excess of N500,000 was not eligible.

“We all know that N500,000 is a very small amount of money for a household over a whole year.

“So, it meant that many people would not be able to apply for the loan,” he said.

He added that the law also failed to consider how students would meet their basic needs after tuition payment, as it did not provide stipends for upkeep.

To address these issues, Sawyer said that President Bola Tinubu initiated a repeal of the initial law, leading to the drafting of a new Education Loan Act, which was passed and launched in May, 2024.

“From May 2024 when we started and now, we are delighted that, not for a single day has the site crashed, even as we received unanticipated high demand.

“We have been able to receive applications on a steady basis, process them, pay students and their institutions from what have been allocated to us,” he said.

Sawyer expressed gratitude to President Tinubu for his visionary leadership, saying NELFUND had become a lifeline for thousands of students who might, otherwise, have abandoned their education.

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The Managing Director of NELFUND, Akintunde Sawyerr, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, in Abuja.

Sawyerr said the extension was in alignment with the federal government’s broader education and skills development agenda.

He added that the move reflected President Bola Tinubu’s commitment to inclusive human capital development beyond traditional university education.

“No nation is built solely by philosophers.

“It is very important to have people who can use their hands, energy, strength, and skills to put into action the clever ideas that come from those emerging from academic institutions,” he said

Sawyerr explained that while NELFUND primarily focused on providing financial support to students in tertiary institutions since its launch, plans were underway to expand access to individuals enrolled in vocational and technical programmes across the country.

According to him, Nigeria’s next development phase requires a balance between academic and technical competence.

“At NELFUND, we have a mandate to also do vocational skills.

“We have not started yet, but I know that the President Bola Tinubu administration has ensured that there is full coverage around the skills issue.

”The Ministry of Youth Development is doing skills, the Ministry of Education is involved in skills and the Ministry of Digital Economy is involved in IT soft skills.

“So, skills is something that many departments of government have been charged with doing.

“And I think it is very clear that an engineer who can build, is better than an engineer who can just design.

“The stage that we are in this country now is what I would call, the design, build, and operate stage,” he said.

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Managing Director of NELFUND, Mr Akintunde Sawyerr, made the announcement in a statement released by the Fund’s Director of Strategic Communications, Mrs Oseyemi Oluwatuyi, on Tuesday in Abuja.

Sawyerr stated that the application portal would be open from Thursday, October 23, 2025, to Saturday, January 31, 2026, covering the full admission cycle of the academic year.

He expressed appreciation to tertiary institutions for their cooperation so far and urged further collaboration to ensure a smooth, transparent, and inclusive loan process for both returning and newly admitted students.

The NELFUND boss reminded institutions to update and upload verified student records, both new intakes and returning students, on the Student Verification Portal to enable seamless loan applications and access to benefits.

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He emphasised that accurate institutional data was a critical requirement for students to successfully apply for and benefit from the student loan scheme under the National Education Loan Programme.

“To support a seamless rollout, institutions should note key details: portal opens Oct. 23, 2025, and closes Jan. 31, 2026. Timely updates will ensure students are not left out.”

Sawyerr added that eligible students included those newly admitted and those returning to accredited tertiary institutions.

According to him, first-year applicants can use admission or JAMB numbers in place of matriculation numbers for verification.

He appealed to institutions to be flexible with registration and fee deadlines for students awaiting disbursement, to avoid disruptions to their academic progress due to financial constraints.

Sawyerr also urged institutions that had not begun the 2025/2026 session to send their academic calendars to NELFUND, for consideration in the scheduling and rollout of disbursements.

He called for temporary registration measures to accommodate students with pending loan applications, so that no qualified applicant was denied access to education due to financial delays.

“For technical support or enquiries, institutions can contact NELFUND via email at data@nelf.gov.ng.”

Source: NAN

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Managing Director of NELFUND, Akintunde Sawyerr, who disclosed this at a news conference in Abuja on Monday, said the 2024/2025 application cycle would commence on February 22.

Sawyerr said that the transition to the 2024/2025 cycle was a demonstration of the organisation’s commitment to efficiency, transparency and continuous improvement of the scheme.

“NELFUND remains dedicated to providing financial support to students, ensuring that no deserving individual is denied education due to financial constraints.

“In just 220 days, we have received an impressive 364,042 applications with an average of 1,000 applications per day.

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“I am proud to announce that N22,736,960,971.58 has been disbursed to cover institutional fees across 150 institutions, directly benefitting 215,514 students.

“Furthermore, a total of N12,818,960,000 has been disbursed as upkeep support, reaching 169,114 students, each receiving N20,000 monthly to assist with their living expenses,” he said.

Sawyerr reassured those who had successfully submitted their applications before the deadline that their applications would be processed, in line with the fund’s established guidelines.

“Our team remains committed to ensuring a fair and timely review of all pending applications.

“This transition is a necessary step to streamline our operations, align with the academic calendar and enhance our ability to process applications efficiently,” he said.

Source: NAN

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The Managing Director, Mr. Akintunde Sawyerr, said this on Thursday in Abuja, when he appeared before the National Assembly Joint Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TETFUND to defend the budget of the agency.

He said out of the N116.184bn, N37.7bn was expended on institution loans.

He said a total number of 352, 796 students applied for the loan, while 108,484 had successfully received the loan.

On the 2025 budgetary proposal, the NELFUND boss said a budgetary envelope of N58.4bn was proposed for the agency.

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“Out of the N58.4 billion budgetary proposal for 2025, N12.2 billion is earmarked for personnel cost, N24.7 billion for overhead cost and N21.4 million for capital expenditure,” he explained.

After consideration of budgetary proposals of the agency, the joint committee accordingly approved it through voice vote put to members.

Earlier before approval of the NELFUND’s budgetary proposal, Chairman of the Joint Committee, Sen. Dandutse Muntari, emphasised the need to ensure transparency on spending of appropriations approved for the organisation in 2025.

“We will examine NELFUND’s financial plan for the upcoming fiscal year to evaluate its alignment with national educational goals and its capacity to meet the growing demands for student loans.

“The agency plays an indispensable role in bridging financial gaps for students across our tertiary institutions,” Muntari said.

Source: NAN

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The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of NELFUND, Mr. Akintunder Sawyerr, made this known on Monday in Lagos at a press briefing.

Speaking against the backdrop of the position that the loan was being more accessed by students in the North than any other part of the country, he said nobody could be forced to take a loan because it had to be refunded.

According to him, the best NELFUND could do was to create a good amount of awareness so that everyone would see the opportunities that abound in it and whosoever was interested would apply for it.

That much, he said, was already being done.

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His words: “This is a loan and you cannot force people to take it because they have to pay back.  Some parts of the country are fast in taking the loan than others. What we are doing is to make sure that everybody is aware of the opportunities and the fact around it (the loan) so that they can make informed decisions about what to do.

“If they decide that they don’t want to take the loan, there is nothing we can do.”

Sawyerr said findings had shown that the reluctance to take the loan by some Nigerians in some parts of the country was based on skepticism and cultural factor.

According to him, requesting for loan is not a popular culture in some parts of the country, hence the initial hesitation.

He said things were already changing, however, in recent times, given the amount of awareness being created.

The NELFUND boss said the parts of the country that were said not to be requesting the loan had started picking up and doing well.

He assured that NELFUND would continue to create the awareness so that Nigerians would continue to benefit from the opportunities that abound.

He added: “Our obligation is to go to every nook and cranny of Nigeria and make Nigerians aware of the presence and opportunities to encourage them to take the loan if they need it.

“People in the Northern part of the country had taken it (loan) faster than people in the South….

“But we believe that given the activities put in place, the areas that had been skeptical are now growing faster (in application) than the other parts of the country.

“Our obligation is to create an equal opportunities. Our objective is to ensure fairness, equity in transmission of information to all Nigerians on what it is all about.”

The NELFUND boss spoke about the success rate of the scheme, disclosing that more than 326,000 persons had applied for the loan.

He said N18 billion had been spent on the academic part of the loan while N5 billion had been disbursed so far in the upkeep part of it.

Sawyerr stated too that it was in the bid to ensure that the loans were open to all that might be interested that the registration was made available online.

He said the online application was to eliminate bias.

“You don’t have to know anybody to get the loan,” he said.

Sawyerr reiterated the fact that the loan was interest-free, just as he emphasized that the government was interested in ensuring that no one was denied the opportunity to be educated because of lack of fund.

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The federal government had injected N60 billion into the fund.

Mrs Oseyemi Oluwatuyi, the Director, Corporate Communications, NELFUND, announced this in a statement on Friday in Abuja.

Oluwatuyi said the release followed the directive of President Bola Tinubu on August 4, directing the EFCC to transfer the funds to NELFUND to further boost the student loan programme.

She said the significant injection of the funds represented a major milestone in the administration’s commitment to bolstering access to education, by providing financial support to students across Nigeria.

“The fund extends its deepest appreciation to Tinubu for his unwavering dedication to the education sector, and his continued efforts to support the most vulnerable segments of the population.

“By deciding to allocate these funds to the student loan scheme, Tinubu has once again demonstrated his visionary leadership and commitment to fostering a brighter future for Nigerian students.

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“NELFUND also wishes to acknowledge and thank the EFCC under the leadership of its Executive Chairman, Ola Olukayode, for their swift action ensuring the release of the funds,” she said.

According to her, NELFUND had ensured that the resources were promptly made available to benefit the education of our nation’s youths.

She added that the decision to direct the funds into NELFUND’s student loan scheme, underscored the administration’s broader social intervention policy aimed at uplifting the most populous segment of Nigerian society.

“This infusion of funds will significantly boost NELFUND’s ability to provide much-needed financial support to students, enabling them to pursue their academic aspirations without financial hindrance,” she said.

Oluwatuyi assured of NELFUND’s commitment to utilising the funds equitably, responsibly and efficiently, while ensuring that they directly benefitted those who needed them the most.

She said that NELFUND would continue to drive the mission of expanding tertiary education access for all Nigerian youths.

She said that through the fund, there would be increasing employability of well-educated graduates in both the academic and vocational sectors.

The EFCC had on August 13 pledged to release N50 billion to support the loan scheme when NELFUND’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Akintunde Sawyerr, led his management team on a courtesy visit to the EFCC headquarters in Abuja.

Source: NAN

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