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 in a statement issued Thursday said the probe became necessary following a recent media report alleging that no fewer than 51 tertiary institutions were implicated in illegal deductions and exploitation related to the NELFUND scheme.
TheHintsNews reports that the institutions were alleged to have made unauthorised deductions ranging from N3,500 to N30,000 from each student’s institutional fees received through the loan fund.
The agency said preliminary findings revealed a significant gap in the financial records of the disbursement process.
It added: “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.
“The Commission confirmed that its Chairman’s Special Task Force immediately swung into action upon receiving the report.
“Letters of investigation and invitations were dispatched to key stakeholders, including the Director General of the Budget Office, the Accountant General of the Federation, and senior officials from the Central Bank of Nigeria.
“Additionally, the Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of NELFUND were invited to provide documentation and explanations relevant to the case.”
The Commission noted that the responses received were critically analysed, and interviews were conducted with the concerned individuals.
It noted: “Its strength of investigation revealed that the total money received by NELFUND as of March 19, 2023, 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; N71.9 billion was from the Tertiary Education Trust Fund; while another N71.9 billion was also from the same Tertiary Education Trust Fund.”
The agency said it, 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.
The ICPC pointed out that it confirmed that a clear case of discrepancies has been established in the administration of the student loan scheme and announced that its investigation would now extend to beneficiary institutions and individual student recipients.
The agency assured that further updates would be provided as the investigation progresses.