The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has dismissed as false a viral social media document claiming that the Federal Government has suspended student upkeep allowance payments under the 2025/2026 Student Loan Scheme.
The Fund described the publication as fake, stating that it neither originated from NELFUND nor reflected its position on the ongoing disbursement of student loans and maintenance allowances. In a statement reported by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday, NELFUND’s Director of Strategic Communications, Mrs. Oseyemi Oluwatuyi, clarified that the document, dated July 10 and bearing her name, was fabricated.
She urged beneficiaries and members of the public to ignore the misleading publication and rely solely on NELFUND’s official communication platforms for verified information. According to Oluwatuyi, neither the Federal Government nor NELFUND has announced or approved any suspension of student upkeep allowance payments to eligible beneficiaries.
The fake document had alleged that allowances for May, June and subsequent months had been suspended because funds had not been released, while claiming that payments would resume after outstanding allocations were received.
However, Oluwatuyi dismissed the claims, stressing that both tuition and upkeep disbursements are continuing in line with the Fund’s mandate to support eligible students enrolled in public tertiary institutions across Nigeria. She warned that the increasing circulation of fabricated documents and artificial intelligence-generated content poses a growing threat to public trust and could mislead beneficiaries.
The NELFUND spokesperson therefore advised students, parents, educational institutions and the general public to verify any information relating to the student loan programme through the agency’s official communication channels before sharing or acting on it.
She also reaffirmed the Fund’s commitment to transparency, accountability and the uninterrupted implementation of the student loan scheme. According to Oluwatuyi, approved tuition fees and student upkeep allowance payments will continue to be processed and disbursed in accordance with the established operational guidelines for eligible beneficiaries.
