NELFUND disburses NGN372.62bn in student loans since May 2024 launch

The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has disbursed a total of NGN372.62 billion in student loans since launching its portal in May 2024, according to its Student Loan Disbursement Report generated on October 3, 2026, covering payments up to September 29, 2026. The breakdown shows NGN192.89 billion paid to 319 beneficiary institutions as tuition fees and NGN179.73 billion paid directly to students as upkeep allowances.

The fund has processed 1,659,853 loan applications since the portal went live. Earlier reports illustrate steady growth: disbursements stood at NGN206.29 billion for 1,164,222 beneficiaries in March 2026, rose to NGN322.69 billion by August 2026, and reached NGN355.87 billion in September 2026, with applications then at about 1.66 million.

Despite the progress, operational challenges persist. In January 2026, NELFUND reported NGN927.98 million in unpaid upkeep allowances owed to 11,685 students due to failed transactions, network downtime and unvalidated bank details. July 2026 brought further concerns over delays in upkeep payments. To address such issues, NELFUND announced in July a plan to replace direct tuition payments to institutions with a digital token-based system, aiming to give students greater control and reduce double-payment cases, a shift reported by Nairametrics.

Will the new token system ease payment delays and give students more autonomy over their tuition funds, or will implementation hurdles limit its impact?

SOURCE: https://nairametrics.com/2026/10/04/nelfund-student-loan-disbursements-hit-n372-62-billion/