NELFund Speaks On Students Loan Defaulters Facing Life Imprisonment

The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has dismissed a viral claim that President Bola Tinubu approved life imprisonment for students who fail to repay their education loans after graduation.

Naija News reports that the the clarification was issued on Sunday after an image began circulating online, allegedly showing the front page of a newspaper with a report.

The report claimed that graduates who defaulted on their student loans would face life imprisonment.

NELFUND described the publication as false and shared an image of the purported newspaper page on its official social media platform, marking it as fake.

NELFund was created under the Student Loans (Access to Higher Education) Act, which was signed into law by President Tinubu and later re-enacted in 2024.

The agency provides interest-free loans to eligible Nigerian students enrolled in public tertiary institutions.

The support is designed to assist beneficiaries with institutional charges and, where applicable, provide monthly upkeep payments.

Under the existing repayment arrangement, beneficiaries are not expected to start paying immediately after completing their studies.

Repayment becomes due two years after a beneficiary completes the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) programme or receives an exemption from the scheme.

However, repayment is tied to employment. A beneficiary is expected to begin repayment when they are gainfully employed after the required period.