FG Targets Unclaimed Funds for Education Loans, Investors Seek Safeguards

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s plan to expand funding for the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) through qualifying Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) recoveries, unclaimed dividends and dormant balances is opening a new debate over how public-interest financing can be balanced with private ownership rights.

The move builds on an existing model. In August 2026, EFCC Chairman Ola Olukoyede disclosed that Tinubu had approved N50 billion from the commission’s Proceeds of Crime Account for NELFUND and the Consumer Credit Corporation. Earlier, more than N50 billion in recovered proceeds had also been channelled to NELFUND.

NELFUND has rapidly expanded its reach, disbursing about N303.9 billion to more than 1.63 million students as of July 2026.

However, unclaimed dividends and dormant balances carry a different legal character. Under the Finance Act 2020 framework, qualifying funds are transferred to the Unclaimed Funds Trust Fund and remain recoverable by their rightful owners, with applicable returns. The SEC has also stressed that the trust fund remains unoperational, pending its formal establishment.

The Federal Government has already recorded N100 billion in borrowing through UFTF-related securities, according to DMO data.

Analysts therefore say any new deployment should clearly define the investment instrument, custody, yield, repayment obligations and National Assembly oversight, ensuring NELFUND’s expansion does not undermine shareholder and depositor protection.