NELFUND to launch job portal to support graduates’ employment access

The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has announced plans to establish a centralised job portal to provide early employment access to its beneficiaries, both within Nigeria and internationally, although the agency does not offer job guarantees.

This announcement was made by Akintunde Sawyerr, Managing Director of NELFUND, during a media engagement series held in Abuja on Thursday, marking the first anniversary of the student loan scheme.

Sawyerr explained that the portal will compile job postings from both public and private sectors, including international employers with an interest in hiring Nigerians.

He stated that this initiative would begin in 2026.

“We don’t just give a loan and leave students on their own. This job portal is our way of supporting their journey towards economic stability,” the NELFUND MD said.

He highlighted that repayment of the loan would only begin once students have secured employment, and this would take effect after completing the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme.

“If you don’t have a job, you don’t pay. And when you eventually get a job, your repayment starts fresh.”

“Once employed, 10 per cent of the beneficiary’s monthly income is deducted automatically by the employer and remitted to NELFUND, following verification through the NELFUND employment register.”

“If an employee is laid off or resigns, the deductions stop. And in the event of death, the loan is written off. The family is not harassed,” Sawyerr added.

On the matter of students who had already paid their fees before NELFUND disbursed payment to institutions, the managing director urged universities and colleges to refund those students.

He said institutions have a moral and professional obligation to return such funds to the students.

“We’ve received multiple petitions from students who paid under duress only to find their fees had also been paid by NELFUND.”

“Institutions must refund this money. It’s disappointing that some schools have ignored this responsibility,” he said.

He further mentioned that investigation agencies such as the ICPC and EFCC have become involved in questioning institutions that have delayed or refused to issue refunds.

“If an institution cannot refund directly to the student, they can pay the money back to us and we will ensure it gets to the rightful student,” Sawyerr stated.

Discussing the Fund’s future projections, the Executive Director of Operations at NELFUND, Mustapha Iyal, stated that the agency is currently managing over 3.2 million student records in its database.

Iyal also said that the Fund is anticipating one million new loan applications by the end of 2025.

Although he clarified that the number was not a mandatory target, he emphasised that the Fund aims to prevent any student from leaving school because of financial difficulties.

“Basically, our projection right now, we have about 3.2 million students in our system.”

“What we’re looking at this year, from now to the end of the year, we’re looking at about one million applications. We’re not pushing. We’re not saying that it’s compulsory.”

“But we’re looking at how we can support one million applications to make sure that no one is dropping out of school,” he said.