ABUJA, Nigeria – The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has officially extended the operational window of its student loan application platform. This decision follows a massive wave of national interest sparked by an ongoing public awareness campaign across the West African country.
The agency had previously reminded the public that the application portal was scheduled to close on Friday, February 27, 2026. However, facing intense feedback from students and educational stakeholders who requested more time, the organisation announced an extension. Okay News reports that this move gives eligible applicants additional days to successfully complete their documentation.
Oseyemi Oluwatuyi, the Director of Strategic Communications for the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, confirmed the new timeline in a public statement released on Monday, March 2, 2026, at 1:51 p.m. West Africa Time (WAT).
“The Nigerian Education Loan Fund has approved an extension of its Student Loan Application Portal following a significant increase in awareness and nationwide demand generated by its ongoing sensitisation campaign. 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,” Oluwatuyi stated.
This extension is critical for several groups. It provides a lifeline to applicants who require extra time to gather documents, prospective students who only recently learned about the financial aid through recent outreach, universities that have just commenced their 2025 to 2026 academic sessions, and educational institutions that have not yet submitted their verified lists of enrolled students.
Akintunde Sawyerr, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, explained that outreach programs across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones successfully drove higher participation rates.
“Our sensitisation 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,” Sawyerr noted.
The agency advised universities and polytechnics that have not yet opened for the 2025 to 2026 academic year to send a formal extension request attached to their approved academic calendars. Meanwhile, all eligible students are strongly encouraged to finish their online applications before the portal permanently shuts down.
The federal agency maintains a strict commitment to transparency and accountability, focusing on sustainable financing solutions that remove financial barriers to higher education in Nigeria.
By the time the system temporarily closed on Friday, the Nigerian Education Loan Fund had successfully logged 1.69 million individual applications. The agency has also disbursed a total of 183.8 billion naira (about $135 million) to successful candidates.
President of Nigeria, Bola Tinubu, signed the Nigeria Student Loan Scheme into law in April 2024. The federal government of Nigeria created the Nigerian Education Loan Fund to administer this specific program. Through this initiative, the federal government provides interest-free loans to students attending public tertiary institutions to help cover tuition fees and daily living expenses.
The application platform originally opened in May 2024 with the core mission of eliminating financial obstacles to higher education, specifically targeting students from low-income households. Students who receive these funds must repay the loans after they graduate and secure stable employment.
