Nigerian students to start repaying NELFUND loan 2 years after NYSC – Tunde Sawyerr 

Sawyerr stated this on Saturday while featuring on a TVC News program.

According to him, this applies to those who have managed to secure a job and the repayment requirements are on their employers.

He added that the employer is to be deducting 10% of the employee’s salary and remitting to the Fund monthly.

Explaining the process of repayment and the duty of employers of Nigerians who have collected loans to study, Sawyerr said:

“Two years after completion of their NYSC, there is a requirement for the loans to be paid back, but the requirement to pay the loan back is on the employer. 

“For those who have managed to secure jobs, the employer goes to a database, he or she checks the name and the NIN number of the person who they’re about to employ. 

“Then they contact NELFUN and say we’re about to employ this person and we’re going to start making deductions from their salary to the NELFUND.  

“That deduction is 10% of that individual’s salary. At no point is the obligation on the individual to pay back themselves.” 

While noting that the law that established NELFUND does not allow it to provide loans for Nigerian students in private higher institutions, he said President Bola Tinubu is considering extending it to them in the future.

“For now, we only give loans to students of public institutions because the law doesn’t allow us to give loans to private institutions.  

“However, I’m very aware that His Excellency President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has indicated that he would like, at some point in the future, to capture all,” he said. 

The NELFUND MD said students of 150 public institutions comprising federal and state-owned schools have benefitted from the loans.

Earlier this month, NELFUND disclosed in a statement that it had disbursed a total of N20 billion for institutional fees, benefiting no fewer than 192,906 students across various tertiary institutions in the country as of February 3, 2025.