President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday directed that all liquid funds recovered by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, along with unclaimed dividends from the Capital Market Trust Fund and the Dormant Account Trust Fund, be diverted to the Nigerian Education Loan Fund to guarantee its long-term financial sustainability.
Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, disclosed this while briefing State House correspondents after the Federal Executive Council meeting presided over by Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Wednesday.
The meeting is the council’s first sitting since June 29.
Alausa said, “The President has now directed that all funds recovered by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission be diverted to NELFUND to continue to support its funding.
“This was also approved by FEC: that all unclaimed dividends from the Capital Market Trust Fund and the Dormant Account Trust Fund should also be directed to NELFUND, so that NELFUND will be financially buoyant to meet its growing obligations today.
“Note, and the President was very clear, not seized properties, or recovered looted funds, but liquid funds, from the EFCC will now be transferred to NELFUND.”
Unclaimed dividends in Nigeria currently stand at approximately N242bn, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission, having grown steadily from about N158.4bn in 2019 to N190bn in 2023 due to outdated shareholder records, unresolved estate matters for deceased investors, and missing bank account linkages, among other factors.
The EFCC has separately recovered over N566bn and $411m in monetary assets over the years, though Alausa clarified that Wednesday’s directive applies strictly to cash recoveries and excludes seized properties or other non-liquid assets.
Alausa argued that Tinubu had fulfilled his campaign commitment with the establishment of the fund as he disclosed that the Fund has benefitted over 1.2 million Nigerian students.
He said, “Today, we have over 1.2 million Nigerian students benefiting from NELFUND, and NELFUND has disbursed over N93bn as stipends to students all across public institutions in the country, both federal and state.
“NELFUND has also disbursed over N250bn as institutional fees to all public institutions across the country, both federal and state.
“This has been a phenomenal blessing to Nigeria and to every Nigerian child. We thank the President for that.”
Alausa noted that the President had directed the Attorney-General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), to work with the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Education and the Debt Management Office to operationalise the movement of the unclaimed dividend funds.
“That will work, and look at the existing Act that set up these two trust funds on how we can move the money legally to NELFUND, and also work with the chairman of the EFCC to look at the entire basket of recovered funds.
“The President was very clear: not seized properties, or recovered looted properties, but liquid funds recovered by the EFCC will now be transferred to NELFUND,” he said.
He added that any funds still subject to ongoing legal challenges would be excluded from the transfer.
“Every single fund that is still subject to a legal challenge will not be part of the money that will be transferred to NELFUND.
“The funds that will be transferred will be all cleared funds, unencumbered funds, looted funds that legally belong to Nigerians,” Alausa said.
The minister also announced that the council approved the deployment of an Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Business Incubation Certification Programme across 14 federal universities, describing it as a technology-driven initiative designed to equip students with entrepreneurship, innovation, business incubation and enterprise development skills, alongside digital learning certification, mentorship and incubation support.
“This programme will kick off in 14 federal universities this year, and we hope to expand it to all other tertiary institutions.
“It’s a programme that has been tested at the University of Lagos.
“It’s shown to improve students’ ability to be job creators and not job seekers, to make them innovators, to make them entrepreneurs,” Alausa said.
The 14 universities approved for the programme are Ahmadu Bello University, Bayero University Kano, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Obafemi Awolowo University, University of Abuja, University of Benin, University of Ibadan, University of Ilorin, University of Jos, University of Lagos, University of Maiduguri, University of Nigeria Nsukka, University of Port Harcourt and Usmanu Danfodiyo University.
Council also approved the augmentation of an existing contract for the completion of the National Library of Nigeria headquarters complex in Abuja.
The project was first initiated on April 29, 2006, with an original two-year completion timeline set for February 28, 2008, but construction work stopped in October 2008.
Alausa explained, “President Bola Tinubu, when he came in, mandated that we look for real funds to complete this national library.
“He directed that we source funds from the Tertiary Education Trust Fund. Also, Her Excellency Senator Oluremi Tinubu indicated that all gifts for her last birthday should be directed towards the completion of the National Library. She was able to help us raise about N25bn.”
He revealed that, combined with TETFund resources, the total augmentation approved for the project stands at approximately N155bn, comprising N118.309bn for construction works and about N37bn for furnishing the complex.
“We’re hoping that construction will flag off in the next few months.
“Abandoned for 18 years, President Bola Tinubu has now been able to mobilise funds together for work to start again at the National Library,” Alausa said.
The council also approved a memo for the establishment of the Academy for Gifted and Talented Children.
The approval transmutes the existing Suleja Academy, originally set up to nurture gifted Nigerian children but which had, over time, been operating merely as a federal government college, into an autonomous institution with its own governing board.
“The academy will now function as an autonomous academy that will have its own board and council. We’ve also diversified how funds will come to the academy from appropriation, from endowment, and from gifts.
“We need to do this because we have to look for every single genius in this country, bring them in, nurture them, and let them help create the Nigeria of tomorrow,” Alausa said, adding that the AGF had been tasked with drafting the executive bill for onward transmission to the National Assembly.
Source: punchng.com
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