NELFUND passes ₦355bn in student loans as 1.66 million apply

The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) had disbursed ₦355.87 billion in student loans and received 1.66 million applications as of 3 September 2026, according to the latest published figures.

Of that total, ₦192.89 billion was paid directly to 319 institutions as tuition fees, while ₦162.98 billion was paid to students as upkeep allowances. The fund’s application portal launched in May 2024.

By those figures, about 54 per cent of the money disbursed has gone to institutions as fees and about 46 per cent to students as upkeep.

1.38 million beneficiaries

As of 15 April 2026, 1,388,592 students had benefited from the scheme. Graduates who are now in employment have begun repaying their loans.

At the University of Ibadan, about 70 per cent of students benefit from the scheme, The Guardian reported.

A pillar of the youth agenda

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has repeatedly placed the student loan scheme at the centre of his administration’s offer to young Nigerians. Addressing the City Boy Movement and other youth groups at State House on 19 October, he listed NELFUND alongside the CREDICORP consumer credit scheme and the Three Million Technical Talent (3MTT) programme as examples of investment in young people.

The Minister of Youth Development, Ayodele Olawande, told the same gathering that the President’s record of investing in youth dates back to his time as Governor of Lagos State.

The scheme’s two-track design, paying fees straight to institutions and upkeep directly to students, is meant to keep students in school while easing the burden on families.

The figures come as the APC campaign heads into its rally season ahead of the presidential election on 16 January 2027, with the President urging young supporters to collect their Permanent Voter Cards.

Sources

This report is compiled from the public news reports and official statements listed above. Quotes and figures are attributed to those who made them.