By Nkechi Eze
The Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Ola Olukoyede, has reiterated the Commission’s commitment to ensuring that every kobo allocated to the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) reaches the students it is meant to support. He issued this strong assurance on Wednesday, July 9, 2025, during a strategic meeting in Abuja with Vice-Chancellors of Federal and State Universities and the National Universities Commission (NUC).
According to a statement by Dele Oyewale, spokesperson for the EFCC, Olukoyede underscored the moral and national imperative of protecting public education funds from abuse. “It is going to be a crime against humanity if recovered loot is re-looted again,” he declared. “It’s a fight to finish and we are not going to allow that to happen. That is why I am passionate about this, because it takes a lot from us to recover these funds.”
He revealed that a significant portion of the seed fund for NELFUND was derived from proceeds of crime recovered by the EFCC with the approval of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Stressing the importance of accountability, he said, “We must ensure that every dime, every kobo meant to support the educational sector and Nigerian students gets to where it ought to be.”
Olukoyede said the EFCC would now intensify monitoring of how institutions manage their budgets, disburse funds, and award contracts. He noted with concern the low level of fraud risk assessment within the education sector and flagged due diligence lapses in procurement processes. “It’s not going to be my delight to see any of you sitting in our interrogation rooms. It is not palatable, and I won’t like it,” he warned the university heads.
The EFCC boss reiterated that prevention is the most effective tool in the fight against corruption. “You don’t always have to wait for money to be stolen before taking action,” he said, lamenting how many suspects often claim ignorance of financial laws. “Ignorance is not a defence in law. That is why this kind of engagement is important, to let us understand what our responsibilities are and what actions could constitute financial crimes.”
He concluded by urging Vice-Chancellors to ensure judicious management of public funds, warning that mismanagement could fuel school dropouts and increase youth involvement in crime. “If these funds are mismanaged, it may lead to school dropouts and potentially push vulnerable youths into terrorism, kidnapping, and other crimes. There’s a strong nexus between lack of education and poverty,” Olukoyede noted.
The meeting was convened at the instance of President Bola Tinubu and hosted by the National Universities Commission. In his opening remarks, the Executive Secretary of the NUC, Professor Abdullahi Yusufu Ribadu, stressed the need to entrench integrity, accountability, and good governance in the university system. “The presence of everyone here today reflects the seriousness with which we approach this national assignment,” Ribadu said, while commending the EFCC Chairman’s reform-driven leadership and preventive approach to financial crime.
Also speaking at the meeting, the Director of Investigation at the EFCC, Mr. Abdulkarim Chukkol, outlined a catalogue of financial irregularities commonly reported from the university system. These include procurement and contract fraud, payroll manipulation, unauthorized allowances, admission and transcript racketeering, research grant abuse, and cash-for-grade scandals. He urged university administrators to implement effective internal controls and remain vigilant.
The Managing Director of NELFUND, Mr. Akintunde Sawyer, also emphasized the importance of process integrity in fund disbursement. “We can’t cut corners or take shortcuts. We must get the process right, not just for investigation purposes but to ensure robust disbursement systems that prevent abuse,” he said.
