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– No indictment yet, Commission clarifies
By Olawale Lamina
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission ,ICPC, has commenced a comprehensive investigation into alleged discrepancies in the disbursement of student loans under the Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NELFUND).
This follows a recent media report alleging that no fewer than 51 tertiary institutions were implicated in illegal deductions and exploitation related to the NELFUND scheme.
The concerned institutions were alleged to have made unauthorized deductions ranging from N3,500 to N30,000 from each student’s institutional fees received through the loan fund.
The ICPC said it has commenced preliminary findings into alleged gap in the financial records of the disbursement process, against the claims that the Federal Government reportedly released N100 billion for the scheme, but only N28.8 billion was disbursed to students, leaving an unaccounted sum of N71.2 billion.
*The ICPC confirmed that a clear case of discrepancies has NOT been established in the administration of the student loan scheme and announced that its investigation will now extend to beneficiary institutions and individual student recipients
“For avoidance of doubts, the Commission has only established the total amount of funds received and disbursed so far by NELFUND.
The impression of diversion and the issue of discrepancies do not exist at this stage; the investigation would have to move into the receiving institutions and persons before any reasonable deductions could be made.
“It is hereby reiterated that the commission does not engage in media trials nor does it usurp the power of the judiciary to indict persons or organisations.
“The general public is urged to exercise patience as thorough investigations require time and ample resources. However, persons with information of value are encouraged to reach out to the Commission through info@icpc.gov.ng
“The earlier error, though already corrected on our Website, is regretted. Our investigations are still ongoing, and there are no indictments yet!’ explained the Commission
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