President Bola Tinubu says all funds recovered by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) will be channelled into the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND).
He made the announcement on Friday at the launch of Arise Palm Resort in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital.
Tinubu said the move was intended to ease the burden of tuition fees on parents and give Nigerians equal access to education.
“I feel your pain and share in the difficulty, and that’s why I decided to take away the responsibility of tuition fees from parents and equal opportunities for everyone who wants to read, taking education as the greatest weapon against poverty,” he said.
“From today on, as we are fighting corruption, any money recovered by EFCC will be dumped into that education programme. It will be. No one can reverse it.”
On August 19, the president directed the EFCC to channel all recovered funds into NELFUND.
Education Minister Tunji Alausa announced the directive after a Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting that day. He also said the council had approved the allocation of unclaimed dividends in the Capital Market Trust Fund and funds in the Dormant Account Trust Fund to the student loan scheme.
At a press briefing in Abuja on August 31, EFCC Chairman Ola Olukoyede said the Federal Government had allocated N100 billion from funds recovered by the agency to the student loan scheme since 2024.
Olukoyede said using recovered criminal proceeds to finance education and household credit would extend the purpose of enforcement beyond punishment to restoration and productive national use.
