….Blames omitted word for misleading report, reaffirms commitment to due process
In a striking reversal, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has clarified that it has not discovered any confirmed discrepancies or diversion of funds in the management of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), correcting a misleading impression created by its earlier public statement.
The anti-corruption agency issued the clarification in a revised notice posted to its official website, acknowledging that the omission of a single critical word—”NOT”—from its initial release had led the public to believe that fraud had been established in the disbursement of student loans.
“Unintentionally, the word ‘NOT’ was missing in the second-to-last paragraph of our earlier press release in respect of an ongoing investigation regarding the Student Loan Scheme. The missing word created an erroneous impression that the alleged discrepancies or diversion had been established.
“We admit that this is not the case. Indeed, we accept that the same part of the sentence also contradicted the whole paragraph,” the Commission stated.
The corrected paragraph, now uploaded to the ICPC’s website, reads:
“The ICPC confirmed that a clear case of discrepancies has NOT been established in the administration of the student loan scheme and announced that its investigation will now extend to beneficiary institutions and individual student recipients.
“The impression of diversion and the issue of discrepancies do not exist at this stage; the investigation would have to move into the receiving institutions and persons before any reasonable deductions could be made,” it added.
The Commission made clear that no instance of fund diversion or financial misconduct has been identified at this point in its inquiry.
The clarification comes amid a wave of public concern and confusion sparked by media reports alleging that 51 tertiary institutions had engaged in unauthorised deductions from student loan disbursements. The Federal Government has reportedly committed N100 billion to the scheme, but only N28.8 billion has been disbursed so far, prompting widespread speculation over the whereabouts of the remaining N71.2 billion.
As part of its probe, the ICPC has summoned NELFUND’s Managing Director, Mr Akintunde Sawyerr, as well as officials from the Central Bank of Nigeria and other involved parties, for questioning.
In its response, NELFUND firmly denied any wrongdoing, asserting that the figures circulating online relate to obsolete educational finance schemes that preceded its formal establishment in 2024.
“Institutional fees are paid directly to verified institutions, while student allowances are sent to verified bank accounts,” the agency explained.
“Our processes are fully automated, timestamped, and digitally tracked—removing any room for human interference.”
The ICPC also took the opportunity to reaffirm its adherence to professional standards and due process, cautioning against trial by media and premature conclusions.
“It is hereby reiterated that the Commission does not engage in media trials nor does it usurp the power of the judiciary to indict persons or organisations,” it said.
Meanwhile, the Federal Ministry of Education has launched a parallel inquiry into the controversy and scheduled an emergency meeting for 6 May 2025 with the Vice Chancellors of the universities mentioned in connection with the alleged deductions, as well as the NELFUND MD.
The ministry is rolling out new transparency measures aimed at strengthening accountability within the student loan system. These include a compliance-tracking initiative, a countdown dashboard, and an Annual University Transparency Index.
University bursars and ICT directors will also undergo training on how to operate open-portal systems that allow real-time monitoring of loan-related transactions.
While acknowledging the seriousness of public concern, the ICPC called for patience and urged Nigerians to allow the investigation to proceed properly.
“The general public is urged to exercise patience as thorough investigations require time and ample resources.
