Without NELFUND, many Nigerians wouldn’t be in university - Jim Ovia

Founder of Zenith Bank Plc and Chairman of the Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) Board, Jim Ovia, has commended President Bola Tinubu for establishing the student loan scheme, saying it has enabled thousands of Nigerian undergraduates to access higher education.

Speaking during an exclusive interview with Channels Television, Ovia described NELFUND as a transformative initiative that is expanding access to tertiary education for students who might otherwise have been unable to attend university.

According to him, the programme has recorded significant success since its introduction and continues to benefit institutions and students across the country.

“Yes, NELFUND definitely is addressing (access to education), and we are glad that Bola Tinubu has introduced that by setting up NELFUND — Nigeria Education Loan Fund — and it’s a very encouraging initiative,” he said.

Ovia, who chairs the NELFUND Board, noted that many universities are already benefiting from the scheme.

“I’ve been the chairperson of that for the past five years, and it’s very successful today. So many universities have already been benefiting from that,” he added.

The business leader also dismissed concerns that the education loan programme was being abused, insisting that the initiative is serving its intended purpose of supporting students with limited financial means.

“No, it’s not being abused at all because without the Nigeria Education Loan Fund, many students wouldn’t have gone to university at all. And also, they are being encouraged to have some stipend to pay their school fees. So, it’s not being abused; it’s being encouraged,” Ovia said.

He urged beneficiaries to take full advantage of the opportunity offered by the Federal Government, expressing confidence that completing their education would improve their employment prospects.

“Without NELFUND, they wouldn’t have gone to the university at all. So, they should be encouraged to take the opportunity to go to university and graduate, and they will get jobs,” he said.

The commendation comes as NELFUND continues to expand its reach. As of July 4, 2026, the agency said it had disbursed ₦303.9 billion in loans to 1,635,676 beneficiaries from 1,800,489 applications.

The fund also announced on July 9 that it released ₦1.5 billion to 6,129 students across three institutions for the 2025/2026 academic session.

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