ICPC probes disbursement of student loan
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has commenced an investigation into alleged discrepancies in the disbursements of the student loan, saying ₦71bn has been allegedly unaccounted for in the scheme.
ICPC’s move came after reports that some institutions were involved in illegal deductions and exploitations related the the student loans scheme under the Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NELFund).
The schools were alleged to have made illegal deductions ranging from ₦3,500 to ₦30,000 from each student’s institutional fees obtained via NELFUND, prompting ICPC to begin an investigation into the matter.
“The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has commenced a comprehensive investigation into alleged discrepancies surrounding the disbursement of student loans under the Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NELFUND),” the anti-graft agency said in a statement on Thursday by its spokesperson, Demola Bakare.
It added that, “Preliminary findings revealed a significant gap in the financial records of the disbursement process. While the Federal Government reportedly released N100 billion for the scheme, only N28.8 billion was disbursed to students, leaving an unaccounted sum of N71.2 billion”.
According to the ICPC, its strength of investigation revealed that the total money received by NELFUND as of March 19, 2024, was N203.8 billion.
“The breakdown showed that N10 Billion was an allocation from the Federation Allocation Account Committee, N50 billion was from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, N71.9B was from the Tertiary Education Trust Fund, while another N71.9 billion was also from the same Tertiary Education Trust Fund.”
ICPC, however, found that the total amount disbursed to institutions from inception to date is about N44,200,933,649.00, while a total of 299 institutions have benefited from the funds released.
“To date, the total amount disbursed to 299 beneficiary institutions stands at approximately N44.2 billion, with 293,178 students having benefited from the fund”, said ICPC.
