President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has directed that eligible liquid funds recovered by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) be channelled into the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), in a move the Federal Government says will strengthen the financing of student loans across Nigeria.

Minister of Education – HM Alausa

The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, announced the decision on Wednesday while briefing State House correspondents after the Federal Executive Council meeting in Abuja.

According to the Minister, the President directed that recovered funds be used to support NELFUND as its financial obligations continue to grow.

“The president, in his benevolence, has now directed that all funds recovered by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission be diverted to NELFUND to continue to support its funding,” Alausa said.

The Federal Executive Council also approved the transfer of unclaimed dividends held under the Capital Market Trust Fund and the Dormant Account Trust Fund to NELFUND.

Alausa said the objective was to ensure that the education loan fund remains financially capable of meeting increasing demand.

“This was also approved by FEC: that all unclaimed dividends from the Capital Market Trust Fund and the Dormant Account Trust Fund should also be directed to NELFUND, so that NELFUND will be financially buoyant to meet its growing obligations today.”

However, the Minister stressed that the directive does not mean that every property or asset seized by the EFCC will automatically be transferred to NELFUND.

He clarified that the arrangement applies to liquid funds that are available for transfer and are not subject to ongoing legal disputes.

“Note, and the President was very clear, not seized properties, or recovered looted funds, but liquid funds, from the EFCC will now be transferred to NELFund.”

The policy could provide NELFUND with an important additional source of funding as the Federal Government’s student-loan programme expands.

NELFUND reported that, as of August 8, it had disbursed more than ₦322 billion in institutional fees and student upkeep allowances to more than 1.6 million students nationwide.

For Nigeria’s young people, the significance goes beyond the figures. The initiative creates a direct connection between the recovery of proceeds associated with financial crime and investment in education.

If properly implemented, money recovered from economic and financial crimes could help finance university, polytechnic and other tertiary education for Nigerians who might otherwise struggle to remain in school.

The arrangement also raises an important question of accountability. As billions of naira potentially move into the student-loan system, Nigerians will expect clear records showing what is recovered, what is transferred, what is disbursed and who benefits.

The real measure of success will therefore not simply be how much money reaches NELFUND, but whether the funds translate into more students educated, more skills developed and greater opportunities for young Nigerians.

For a country battling both financial crime and barriers to education, the message is significant: where money is recovered from wrongdoing, society should ultimately see a legitimate public benefit.