NELFund Uncovers Collusion Between Universities, Banks in Student Loan Mismanagement

The Federal Government has raised serious concerns over alleged collusion between certain universities and banks in the mismanagement of student loan disbursements, okay.ng reports.

Lanre Issa-Onilu, Director-General of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), disclosed this following a strategic meeting with Akintunde Sawyerr, Managing Director of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFund). The meeting, held to address mounting complaints over delays in loan disbursement, uncovered what officials describe as deliberate withholding of critical financial information by some institutions.

In a statement issued on Sunday, Issa-Onilu noted that early findings point to a pattern where university administrators, in partnership with some commercial banks, are deliberately delaying the release of loan funds to successful student applicants—allegedly for their own benefit.

According to him, some institutions have failed to acknowledge disbursements made by NELFund, thereby complicating efforts to ensure transparency and accountability in the loan process.

Corroborating the claims, Sawyerr revealed that NELFund has identified cases where institutions received the funds directly but did not notify the beneficiaries or update their financial records accordingly.

“Investigations by NELFund indicate that some universities received student loan payments into their accounts without informing the students or documenting the disbursements, which has caused widespread confusion,” Sawyerr said.

He emphasized that such actions violate the foundational principles of the loan scheme and warned that NELFund is ready to pursue legal action against any institution found guilty of these practices.

Issa-Onilu issued a strong warning to the implicated universities and banks, calling for an immediate halt to the unethical conduct.