Over 788,000 Students Got N150bn NELFUND Loan—FG

The Federal Government has announced that over 788,000 Nigerian students have benefited from the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, NELFUND, with a total disbursement of more than N150bn.

This announcement was made by the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, during an end-of-the-year press briefing in Abuja on Monday.

According to Idris, 2025 has been a significant year for targeted policies impacting young people, as NELFUND enables more students to stay in school without financial hurdles.

He stated that the initiative has provided interest-free loans and stipends to over 788,000 students, with the government’s aim to ensure no student is denied education due to financial constraints.

“For our young people, 2025 has been a bumper year in targeted and catalytic policies making implementation plan.

“The first one is NELFUND, which has now supported over 788,000 Nigerian students with interest-free loan and stipend amounting to over N150bn and still counting,” he said.

Idris emphasised the accessibility of NELFUND, saying no connections are needed to benefit, and expressed the government’s commitment to continuing the program, citing President’s intent to support students.

“You don’t need to know anybody to connect to NELFUND. Over 788,000 have benefitted from this and the president is not stopping. He is going to continue.

“The desire of the president is that no young man or woman of school age should be left out of school simply on account of the inability of parents or guardians to pay for tuition fees and also to pay for upkeep,” he said.