The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has announced plans to launch a centralized job portal aimed at providing student loan beneficiaries with early access to employment opportunities both locally and internationally.
The initiative was revealed by NELFUND Managing Director, Akintunde Sawyerr, during a media engagement held in Abuja on Thursday, July 17, 2025, to mark the first anniversary of the student loan scheme.
Sawyerr explained that while NELFUND does not guarantee job placements, the new portal is intended to ease graduates’ transition into the workforce by aggregating job listings from public and private sectors as well as international recruiters seeking Nigerian talent.
“We don’t just disburse loans and walk away. This portal is our way of helping beneficiaries begin their journey toward financial independence,” he said.
He reiterated that loan repayment only begins once a beneficiary has secured employment and completed the mandatory National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) program.
“If you don’t have a job, you don’t pay. Once employed, 10% of your monthly income is automatically deducted by your employer and remitted to NELFUND after verification through our employment register,” he explained.
“In the case of job loss or resignation, deductions stop immediately. And if a beneficiary dies, the loan is written off, and families will not be pursued.”
Addressing concerns from students who paid their fees before NELFUND disbursements reached their institutions, Sawyerr criticized schools that failed to process refunds.
“We’ve received multiple complaints from students who paid under pressure, only to discover their fees were also covered by NELFUND,” he said. “Institutions must return this money. It’s unacceptable that some are ignoring this responsibility.”
He noted that anti-corruption agencies such as the ICPC and EFCC are now investigating schools that have delayed or refused refunds.
“If an institution cannot refund directly to a student, they should return the money to NELFUND—we’ll ensure it reaches the rightful beneficiary,” he added.
On the Fund’s future plans, NELFUND’s Executive Director of Operations, Mustapha Iyal, revealed that the agency is currently managing over 3.2 million student records and expects around one million new applications before the end of 2025.
“Our goal is not to force numbers but to support as many students as possible,” Iyal said. “We aim to ensure that no student drops out due to financial constraints.”
