The Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Ola Olukoyede, has tasked the House of Representatives to join hands with the EFCC to make the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, NELFund, a model that works.
He gave the charge on Tuesday, July 29, 2025, when Members of the House of Representatives Committee on Students Loans, Scholarships and Higher Education Financing, led by its Chairman, Honourable Ifeoluwa Ehindero, came on a working visit to the Commission.
“It is important to make sure that this scheme succeeds, because we pass good laws, but the implementation is always lacking. So, we need to strengthen these processes to make an impact and to do that, you have to make sacrifices. We should be ready to work. At least for once, let’s give Nigerians a sense of good governance, so that not only here, but in the comity of nations, they can see what we are doing and be proud of us. The NELFund is an agency we have to partner with. We supported the scheme with about N50 billion as a seed fund, which is a great achievement for this administration, because it has not happened before. You can’t take away the impact that it is having on young Nigerians,” he said.
Speaking further, Olukoyede said, “We should beam our searchlights on NELFund. If they know that the National Assembly has a searchlight on them, it will go a long way in checkmating them. I strongly believe in prevention; we don’t have to sit down for things to get bad before we take action. That is why when I got to the office, one of the first things I did was to introduce a department called Fraud Risk Assessment and Control to focus on prevention.”
While acknowledging the good works of the National Assembly and encouraging the members to do more, he promised to establish a NELFund Desk in the Commission to enable swift information sharing and action.
Earlier in his remarks, Ehindero extolled Olukoyede’s leadership qualities and declared the readiness of members of the Committee to partner with the EFCC in ensuring that every deserving Nigerian student gets access to higher education, devoid of financial encumbrances through NELFund.
He disclosed that members of the Committee were fully aware of the quality oversight expected from them on NELFund by members of the public, adding that the lawmakers were determined to collaborate with the EFCC to ensure that the laudable mission of the Fund was realized, especially against the backdrop of the mounting public fear of irregularities and ethical violation in the operations of the Fund.
The House Committee on Students Loans, Scholarships and Higher Education Financing, Ehindero said, recognised the pivotal roles of the EFCC in ensuring that public funds, including those intended for education, are applied responsibly and accountably.
“We look forward to a strong and sustained collaboration with the EFCC in joint monitoring and auditing of NELFund disbursements and processes, sharing of intelligence and data, capacity building in developing anti-corruption frameworks within NELFund and its partner institutions. We believe that only through such inter-agency cooperation can we fully safeguard the integrity and success of this vital national programme,” he said.
The Committee Chair commended the EFCC for the significant donation of N50 billion in support of NELFund’s take-off capital, saying that it demonstrated EFCC’s strong commitment to national development and reflected the Commission’s recognition of education as a pillar in the fight against poverty, ignorance and crime.
While praising Olukoyede for his sincerity of purpose, describing him as a beacon of hope, he urged him to continue his good works for the country.
