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According to Mr. Akintunde Sawyerr, Managing Director of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), students seeking access to student loans must provide their Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) registration number, National Identification Number (NIN), and Bank Verification Number (BVN).
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Sawyerr emphasized that these requirements are essential for security clearance and authentication of student loan applicants, as they are digitally enabled.
Speaking to reporters from the Education Writers Association of Nigeria (EWAN) in Lagos, Sawyerr explained that the inclusion of NIN is part of the government’s broader policy to ensure that every Nigerian is registered in the NIN database.
1.2m beneficiaries for first phase
In the initial phase of loan disbursements, NELFUND aims to benefit approximately 1.2 million beneficiaries. Funding for the loan scheme is sourced from 1% of the revenue generated annually by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), as revealed by Sawyer.
NELFUND will conduct thorough verification of applications and accompanying requirements to determine eligibility before disbursing funds in two installments.
Under the law, it is mandatory for all citizens to possess a NIN, and it is now also required to link telephone numbers to NIN. The NIN database, managed by the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), currently exceeds 105 million entries.
