A fresh controversy has emerged over the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) after former Kogi West Senator Dino Melaye questioned the Federal Government’s student loan scheme, alleging that beneficiaries receive only ₦20,000 and challenging the government’s claim that the programme covers students’ school fees.
Melaye, a chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), made the claim in a video circulating online, where he described NELFUND as a “haven of corruption” and questioned whether the amount could cover the cost of higher education.
“Which government school takes N20,000 as annual school fees?” Melaye asked, according to the video.
“Why is Tinubu claiming he’s paying students’ school fees when he’s giving them only N20,000?”
His comments have drawn a response from the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) and President Bola Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, who disputed the suggestion that ₦20,000 represents the total value of the student loan support.
NELFUND’s own student-loan platform states that the scheme covers institutional charges and/or upkeep, with the loan amount determined by the verified figures entered into a beneficiary’s account. It also states that, after verification, payments for institutional charges are made to the student’s institution, while the upkeep component is paid into the student’s bank account.
The NELFUND website therefore distinguishes between the money paid to institutions and the upkeep component paid directly to beneficiaries.
The Fund’s official impact page also contains records of ₦20,000 monthly upkeep payments to beneficiaries, indicating that the figure referenced by Melaye relates to the upkeep component rather than the entire student-loan package.
Reacting to Melaye’s comments, NANS President Akinteye Babatunde Afeez said the claim amounted to a misrepresentation of the structure of the scheme.
The students’ body said the ₦20,000 was an upkeep payment, while institutional charges were handled separately through payments to the respective institutions.
NANS said it was necessary to clarify the distinction because reducing the entire NELFUND programme to the upkeep payment could give the public a misleading picture of how the scheme operates.
The association also questioned Melaye’s record on education support while he served as a senator, challenging him to provide details of scholarships or bursaries provided to students in his constituency.
Onanuga also weighed into the dispute, sharing NANS’ response on X and accusing Melaye of making a false claim about the student-loan scheme.
“NANS President delivers a stinging rebuke to Dino Melaye over his brazen lie that NELFUND gives students only N20,000 per year,” Onanuga wrote.
He added: “You wonder what this former Senator and Atiku campaigner had smoked before going on TV.”
While the political exchange has focused attention on the ₦20,000 figure, NELFUND’s published terms make clear that the loan amount is based on verified institutional-fee and upkeep components.
The Fund’s terms also provide that the loans are interest-free and that beneficiaries who participate in the National Youth Service Corps are expected to begin repayment two years after completing the programme.
NELFUND currently describes the student-loan initiative as a programme designed to provide zero-interest loans for institutional charges and upkeep for eligible Nigerian students. Its platform says the first phase is open to students in federal higher institutions, with subsequent phases to be announced.
The latest dispute comes as NELFUND continues to expand the student-loan scheme, with the Fund reporting more than one million students among its milestones and beneficiaries across universities and polytechnics.
The controversy has consequently shifted from whether beneficiaries receive ₦20,000 to a broader question of how the different components of the student-loan scheme are understood, communicated and accessed by students and the public.
