The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) says it is developing a centralised job portal to give beneficiaries early access to employment opportunities in Nigeria and abroad.
The Managing Director of NELFUND, Akintunde Sawyerr, made this known during a media engagement series to mark one year since the loan scheme was launched in Abuja on Thursday, July 17, 2025.
He stated that while the agency does not guarantee jobs, the upcoming job portal is designed to support graduates’ transition into the labour market.
Sawyerr said the portal would aggregate listings from the public and private sectors, as well as international employers interested in recruiting Nigerians.
“We don’t just give a loan and leave students on their own. This job portal is our way of supporting their journey towards economic stability,” he said
Sawyerr reiterated that student loan repayment would not commence until beneficiaries are gainfully employed and have completed their National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).
“If you don’t have a job, you don’t pay. And when you eventually get a job, your repayment starts fresh.
“Once employed, 10 per cent of the beneficiary’s monthly income is deducted automatically by the employer and remitted to NELFUND, following verification through the NELFUND employment register.
“If an employee is laid off or resigns, the deductions stop. And in the event of death, the loan is written off. The family is not harassed,” he said.
On the issue of students who paid fees before NELFUND disbursements reached their schools, Sawyerr called on institutions to uphold their responsibility and refund affected students.
“We’ve received multiple petitions from students who paid under duress, only to find their fees had also been paid by NELFUND.
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“Institutions must refund this money. It’s disappointing that some schools have ignored this responsibility,” he said.
He also noted that anti-corruption agencies have begun intervening: “Investigative bodies like the ICPC and EFCC have stepped in to question certain institutions over delays or refusals to refund.”
To ensure funds are returned appropriately, he advised: “If an institution cannot refund directly to the student, they can pay the money back to us and we will ensure it gets to the rightful student.”
Speaking on the agency’s projections for the coming years, the Executive Director of Operations at NELFUND, Mustapha Iyal, stated that the Fund is currently managing over 3.2 million student records in its system.
Iyal, however, said the Fund is projecting one million new applications by the end of 2025.
While stating that the figure was not compulsory, he added that the Fund aimed to ensure that no student dropped out due to financial hardship.
“Basically, our projection right now is that we have about 3.2 million students in our system.
“What we’re looking at this year, from now to the end of the year, we’re looking at about one million applications. We’re not pushing. We’re not saying that it’s compulsory.
“But we’re looking at how we can support one million applications to make sure that no one is dropping out of school,” he said.
