By Erewunmi Peace

The Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Ola Olukoyede, has called on the House of Representatives to join forces with the EFCC in ensuring that the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFund) becomes a model of transparency, accountability, and national impact.

Speaking during a courtesy visit by the House Committee on Student Loans, Scholarships and Higher Education Financing, Olukoyede emphasized the importance of putting mechanisms in place to prevent financial abuses within the newly established fund.

“Let us make this work. If this initiative works, we would have solved a lot of problems for the future of this country,” he said.

“I’m ready to give you the support needed. If you say we should assign operatives here to monitor disbursements and recovery, we’ll do it,” he added.

Olukoyede revealed that the EFCC has already set aside ₦50 billion as seed funding for the initiative and expressed the Commission’s willingness to deploy its resources to monitor and guide the loan system, ensuring that it serves its purpose — helping students access quality education without financial barriers.

Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Terser Ugbor, commended the EFCC for the initiative and stressed the need for inter-agency collaboration to protect public funds and guarantee the success of NELFund.

NELFund, a federal government-backed scheme, is designed to offer interest-free loans to Nigerian students pursuing higher education. The initiative is part of broader reforms aimed at expanding access to education and reducing financial burdens on families.

This collaboration between the EFCC and the House Committee is seen as a strategic step to ensure that the fund does not go the way of past government programs plagued by mismanagement and corruption.