The Federal Government has confirmed that more than ₦150 billion has been released to Nigerian students under the Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), benefiting at least 788,000 individuals enrolled in public tertiary institutions across the country.
The disclosure was made by the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Alhaji Mohammed Idris, during an end-of-year media briefing held in Abuja on Monday, where he presented an overview of the Tinubu administration’s performance across critical sectors of the economy.
According to the minister, education emerged as one of the strongest beneficiaries of government policy in 2025, driven by what he described as targeted, youth-focused interventions aimed at widening access to learning and skills development.
Idris said the student loan programme has played a central role in reducing financial pressure on students, particularly those from low-income households, by providing interest-free funding for tuition and living expenses.
He explained that the Nigeria Education Loan Fund has steadily scaled its operations since inception, enabling hundreds of thousands of students to remain in school without resorting to high-interest borrowing or abandoning their education due to financial constraints.
“To date, NELFUND has disbursed over ₦150 billion in interest-free loans and stipends to more than 788,000 Nigerian students, and the numbers continue to grow,” the minister stated.
Beyond the student loan initiative, Idris said the Federal Government rolled out additional programmes in 2025 to strengthen youth participation in innovation, technology, and enterprise development.
One of such interventions is the Investment in Digital and Creative Enterprises (iDICE) programme, which officially commenced operations during the year. The initiative is designed to stimulate innovation by providing structured funding support for young Nigerians operating in the digital and creative economy.
According to Idris, iDICE is anchored on a multi-million-dollar venture capital framework aimed at nurturing startups, supporting creative enterprises, and expanding Nigeria’s digital entrepreneurship ecosystem.
In a related development, the government also introduced the Student Venture Capital Grant (S-VCG) in 2025 to encourage innovation within tertiary institutions nationwide.
The minister explained that the S-VCG provides equity-free funding of up to ₦50 million to undergraduate students developing viable solutions in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, and Medicine (STEMM) disciplines within accredited Nigerian institutions.
He said the initiative is designed to commercialise ideas emerging from campuses and reposition universities and polytechnics as centres for innovation and job creation.
“With interventions like the S-VCG, we are deliberately shifting young Nigerians from being job seekers to becoming job creators by supporting innovation at the academic level,” Idris added.
Idris also highlighted progress recorded under the Three Million Technical Talent (3MTT) programme, which forms part of the administration’s strategy to build a digitally skilled workforce capable of competing globally.
He noted that the programme aligns with Nigeria’s long-term ambition of developing Africa’s largest pool of technical and digital professionals, while addressing unemployment among young people.
The Nigeria Education Loan Fund was established to administer the Nigeria Student Loan Scheme, which was signed into law by President Bola Tinubu in April 2024.
The scheme offers interest-free loans to students in public tertiary institutions, covering tuition and essential living costs. Applications opened in May 2024 as part of broader efforts to eliminate financial barriers to higher education.
Under the programme’s framework, beneficiaries are required to begin repayment only after completing their studies and securing employment, a structure designed to ensure long-term sustainability and allow future students to benefit from the revolving fund.
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