FG pumps ₦154bn into student loans

‎The Federal Government has confirmed that the Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has supported over 788,000 students with more than ₦154 billion interest-free loans and stipends.
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‎The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Alhaji Mohammed Idris, made this revelation during an end-of-year briefing in Abuja today Monday, December 22. He described the year 2025 as the year for youth-centric policies. Aside from the student loans, the government launched the Student Venture Capital Grant (S-VCG) in November 2025, offering up to ₦50 million in non-repayable funding for STEMM student innovators.
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The NELFUND scheme, kick-started by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, under the Renewed Hope Agenda, was aimed towards removing the financial barriers to higher education by covering institutional fees and providing monthly upkeep for students in public tertiary institutions.
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Following the signing of the Students Loans Act in April 2024, NELFUND was established to replace the defunct Nigeria Education Bank. The program was later redesigned to be inclusive, by removing earlier restrictive requirements including the ₦500,000 household income ceiling and the need for guarantors.
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‎By late 2025, the scheme expanded by covering 262 public institutions across the country. Repayment is structured to begin only two years after the completion of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), provided the beneficiary has secured employment.

‎NELFUND has now supported over 788,000 Nigerian students with interest-free loans and stipends amounting to over N150 billion, and still counting. We are nurturing the seeds of entrepreneurship on our campuses – Alhaji Mohammed Idris, Minister of Information

‎The government also plans to launch two new investment funds under the iDICE programme in early 2026 which includes a dedicated Creative Sector Fund and a Fund of Funds to support smaller tech incubators across the six geopolitical zones of the country.
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‎The NELFUND application portal remains open for the 2025/2026 academic session until January 31, 2026.