EFCC Denies 'Donating' N50 Billion To NELFUND

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has dismissed reports that it donated the sum of N50 billion to the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) from its recovery account.

Recall that in a statement obtained on the agency’s website on Tuesday, NELFUND Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Akintunde Sawyerr, thanked the EFCC for the funds.

While Sawyerr noted that the Fund, an initiative of the President Bola Tinubu-led administration, was designed to provide funding for the education of indigent students, he lamented the poor development of youths in the nation’s education sector.

The statement partly read, “He (Sawyerr) appreciated the EFCC for the N50 billion injected into NELFUND from the proceeds of crime recovered by the commission.”

However, some Nigerians have slammed the Commission for donating recovered loots without first remiting such funds to the federal government in obedience to the Nigerian Constitution.

Clarifying the situation, EFCC’s Head, Media & Publicity, Dele Oyewale, said the fund was not a donation by the Commission but part of the recovered proceeds of crime remitted to the government.

He stated that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in furtherance of his social intervention policy for the most vulnerable segments of the population, decided in his wisdom, to plough the money into funding the critically acclaimed students loan scheme.

According to him, it is not the place of the Commission to determine where the government commits recovered proceeds of crime.

“As the Commission’s Chairman, Ola Olukoyde disclosed during a courtesy visit to the Commission by the NELFUND’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Akintunde Sawyerr on August, 13, 2026, the EFCC will monitor the use of the funds to ensure accountability and the realization of the objectives of the Scheme,” Oyewale added.