Muhammed Abubakar, Reporting
THE Federal Executive Council (FEC) has directed that legally recovered loots in the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) be channelled into the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), in a major push to place the student loan scheme on a more sustainable financial footing.
The directive was issued on Wednesday, August 19, and disclosed to State House correspondents by the Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, following the weekly FEC meeting in Abuja.
According to Alausa, the council also approved the mobilisation of funds from the Unclaimed Dividends Trust Fund and the Dormant Accounts Trust Fund for NELFUND, subject to the laws governing those funds.
However, the minister stressed that the directive applies exclusively to liquid assets and does not cover properties seized by the EFCC or funds still entangled in legal disputes.
“The President was very clear: not seized properties, all recovered looted funds, liquid funds recovered by the EFCC will now be transferred to NELFUND,” Alausa stated.
He emphasised that any recovered money still facing legal challenge would remain excluded from the transfer.
President Bola Tinubu has directed the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, the Minister of Finance, the Ministry of Education, the Debt Management Office, and other relevant agencies to work out the legal framework for the transfer.
The Attorney-General is also expected to collaborate with the EFCC chairman to identify funds that are legally available for transfer.
The move comes as demand for the federal government’s student loan programme continues to grow exponentially.
Alausa disclosed that more than 1.2 million Nigerian students are currently benefiting from NELFUND, with the scheme having disbursed over ₦93 billion in upkeep allowances to students in federal and state-owned public institutions.
The government will also review the laws establishing the Unclaimed Dividends Trust Fund and Dormant Accounts Trust Fund to determine the appropriate legal steps required to make those funds available to NELFUND.
In a separate development, the FEC approved approximately ₦118.31 billion for the completion of the abandoned National Library of Nigeria headquarters complex in Abuja, alongside an additional ₦37 billion for furnishing the facility, bringing the total approved funding to roughly ₦155 billion.
The National Library project, which began on April 29, 2006, with an initial completion timeline of two years, was halted in October 2008, leaving the structure abandoned for nearly two decades.
According to Alausa, President Tinubu directed the Ministry of Education to mobilise resources to revive the project, including funding through the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund).
The minister also acknowledged the role of First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, in efforts to revive the project.
He revealed that the First Lady had requested that gifts and donations meant to mark her birthday be channelled towards completing the library, an initiative that generated approximately ₦25 billion.
Work on the long-abandoned project is expected to resume within the next few months.
The council also approved the establishment of the Nigerian Academy for the Gifted and Talented, to be created through the transformation of the existing Suleja Academy, in line with the government’s plan to strengthen opportunities for exceptionally gifted Nigerian students.
