NELFund releases N1.33bn loan to UNILAG students for 2025/26 session

The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFund) has disbursed N1.33 billion to the University of Lagos (UNILAG) to support students under the federal student loan scheme for the 2025/2026 academic session.

NELFund’s Director of Communication, Oseyemi Oluwatuyi, said in a statement on Friday that the funds were released to the institution on January 19, in line with the approved disbursement schedule.

According to her, the disbursement will benefit 6,308 eligible students of the university who successfully met all requirements of the loan programme.

She explained that the list of beneficiaries was generated from verified institutional data submitted by UNILAG during the application and validation processes.

Oluwatuyi said the disbursement would enable beneficiaries to complete their registration and resume academic activities without delay, assuring that the fund would ensure the timely application of payments to students’ accounts.

She added that NELFund remains committed to transparency and clear communication in order to prevent misinformation and ensure that no qualified student is disadvantaged.

Students were advised to contact their institutions’ bursary or student affairs departments for further clarification where necessary.

Meanwhile, the Director of Operations at NELFund, Mustapha Iyal, recently disclosed that students with outstanding arrears under the scheme would soon receive their payments.

He revealed that over 11,000 students were affected by payment delays amounting to about N927.98 million, attributing the setback to technical and operational challenges.

Iyal added that the number of pending applications increased due to issues ranging from incomplete processes to lack of seriousness on the part of some applicants, noting that plans are underway to expand the scheme in the 2026/2027 academic session.