NELFUND Beneficiaries Struggle As N20,000 Monthly Upkeep Stalls Since June
- NELFUND’s ₦20,000 monthly upkeep allowance to indigent students has been halted since June, leaving many unable to meet basic needs
- Students across universities say the delay has forced them into debt, disrupted classes, and raised doubts about the fund’s transparency
- Despite repeated complaints, NELFUND has yet to issue an official explanation, with only informal assurances of payment when funds are available
The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), introduced by the current government of President Bola Tinubu to support indigent students with tuition loans and a ₦20,000 monthly upkeep allowance, has stopped disbursing the stipends since June, leaving hundreds of beneficiaries stranded.
Students across multiple universities told Legit.ng that the delay has pushed many into debt, forcing some to skip lectures, or even buy food, despite earlier assurances from the federal government that the payments would be consistent.
Source: Twitter
Habeeb, a 200-penultimate student of Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto said:
“I have been borrowing money just to eat, checking my phone every second to see the allowance to drop.”
“The last ₦20,000 I got was in June. Since then, nothing has come in. It’s frustrating because I planned my budget around the government’s promise,” he added.
“The terms of the loan is that we will be paid the allowances for 12months, they paid us seven months and that was paid in June, we were not paid in July and now August is almost coming to the middle without any proper explanation," Habeeb said.
Students missing lectures due to delayed payment
For many students, the delay has gone beyond inconvenience and into outright crisis.
Maryam, a final-year student at University of Ilorin, told Legit.ng she has missed several lectures because she cannot afford transportation.
Source: UGC
“I live off-campus in Tanke Ilorin. My plan is that I would be using the allowance for my transport to school anytime I have lectures but now, the delay is really affecting me,” she explained.
“Without the upkeep money, I can’t go to class every day. Sometimes I trek halfway before finding a free ride that would convey me inside the campus, but it’s exhausting. This was supposed to help us study better, but instead, we are more distracted and worried than ever,” she concluded.
NELFUND introduced to ease students' burdens
NELFUND, which operates under the supervision of the Federal Ministry of Education, was designed to tackle financial barriers in higher education by providing interest-free loans for tuition and monthly stipends.
The ₦20,000 upkeep allowance, according to the government’s initial rollout plan, was to be disbursed directly into beneficiaries’ bank accounts every month.
But now, with payments halted for over two months, questions are being asked about the fund’s transparency and capacity.
Several beneficiaries told Legit.ng that attempts to get official explanations have yielded no results.
Another beneficiary, Muheeb, a law student at the University of Lagos, said:
“We have tagged NELFUND on social media about the issues. The only response we get is ‘be patient’. But how can we be patient when we can’t feed? If they knew there was no money, why promise us?”
At the time of filing this report, NELFUND had not issued any official statement addressing the delay.
However, several students say they have been told informally that the backlog will be paid “once funds are available.”
FG opens portal to provide free loans
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that the federal government had officially opened the application portal for YouthCred, a new initiative that provides Nigerian youths, especially NYSC members and young entrepreneurs, access to loans without the usual hurdles of collateral or a long credit history.
The programme, powered by the Nigerian Consumer Credit Corporation (CrediCorp), is part of a broader move to transform Nigeria’s credit culture and financially empower the next generation.
Source: Legit.ng
