The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has denied reports claiming it donated N50 billion to the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) from its recovery account.
The EFCC stated that the funds were part of the recovered proceeds of crime remitted to the government.
According to EFCC’s Head of Media & Publicity, Dele Oyewale, President Bola Tinubu directed the funds to support the education of indigent students through NELFUND, as part of his social intervention policy.
Oyewale emphasized that the EFCC’s role is to remit recovered funds to the government, not to decide how they are utilized. He added that the EFCC will monitor the use of the funds to ensure accountability and achieve the objectives of the scheme.
He said, “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.”
This clarification comes after NELFUND’s Managing Director, Akintunde Sawyerr, thanked the EFCC for the funds.
Sawyerr’s statement partly read, “He (Sawyerr) appreciated the EFCC for the N50 billion injected into NELFUND from the proceeds of crime recovered by the commission.”
The statement sparked criticism from some Nigerians, who argued that the EFCC should have first submitted the funds to the federal government.
