The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has rejected a viral claim that President Bola Tinubu approved life imprisonment for graduates who fail to repay their education loans and described the purported announcement as fabricated.
NELFUND issued the clarification on Sunday after an alleged newspaper front page circulated online claiming that students who defaulted on their loans after graduation would be sent to prison for life.
The agency labelled the publication “FAKE” and shared an image of the purported front page on its official X account with a view to making clear that the reported presidential directive did not originate from the government.
The fabricated edition was dated Thursday, May 27, 2027, and carried the headline: “All students who fail to repay their loan after graduation will go to jail for life.”
The claim is particularly significant because the student loan scheme involves thousands of Nigerian undergraduates and has generated sustained public interest over the conditions governing access to and repayment of the facility.
NELFUND’s clarification also draws attention to the actual repayment framework, which does not require beneficiaries to begin settling their loans immediately after graduation.
Under the existing arrangement, repayment becomes due two years after a beneficiary completes the National Youth Service Corps programme, provided the beneficiary is employed or earning an income.
For graduates in paid employment, 10 per cent of their monthly salary, wages, and other income is deducted at source by their employers and remitted towards the loan.
Self-employed beneficiaries are required to pay 10 per cent of their total monthly profit to NELFUND.
The framework also makes provision for beneficiaries who have no employment or income when repayment becomes due. Such persons may apply for an extension by submitting a sworn statement in the manner prescribed by the NELFUND Board.
The repayment conditions therefore differ substantially from the claim contained in the circulating publication which presented lifetime imprisonment as an automatic consequence of failure to repay after graduation.
NELFUND said the recent false publication was part of a recurring pattern of misinformation surrounding the student loan programme. The Fund has previously debunked fabricated circulars and notices purporting to announce changes to the scheme, including claims concerning the suspension of loan disbursement.
The agency administers the federal student loan programme established under the Student Loans (Access to Higher Education) Act. The legislation was signed into law by Tinubu and re-enacted in 2024.
The scheme provides zero-interest loans to eligible students in public tertiary institutions. According to the framework supplied by NELFUND, the support covers institutional charges and, where applicable, upkeep allowances.
The circulation of the alleged newspaper front page has consequently prompted the Fund to reiterate the distinction between legitimate information on loan obligations and fabricated material presented as government policy.
NELFUND’s intervention also places emphasis on the need to verify information concerning the student loan scheme before it is circulated to beneficiaries and the wider public.
The clarification, therefore, means that the repayment regime is governed by the statutory framework administered by NELFUND, rather than the punitive provision claimed in the fake publication.
The agency did not announce any new punishment for loan beneficiaries in its Sunday clarification. Instead, it rejected the alleged presidential directive and identified the circulating publication as fake news.
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