The Nigerian Education Loan Fund has labelled as “fake news” a circulating image claiming that President Bola Tinubu had announced life imprisonment for students who fail to repay their education loans after graduation.
In a post on its official X account on Sunday, NELFUND shared the doctored image of what appeared to be the front page of The Daily Tribune, dated Thursday, May 27, 2027.
The headline read in part, “Tinubu: All students who fail to repay their loan after graduation will go to jail for life.”
The Fund, however, stamped the purported paper with a large red “FAKE” overlay, insisting that the claim was false.
NELFUND has previously issued clarifications dismissing fabricated circulars, notices about suspended upkeep payments and false claims that beneficiaries must begin repayment while still in school or shortly after graduation.
The Fund was established under the Student Loans (Access to Higher Education) Act, signed into law by President Tinubu and re-enacted in 2024.
The agency administers interest-free loans to eligible Nigerian students in public tertiary institutions to cover institutional fees and provide monthly upkeep allowances.
Under the governing law, repayment becomes due two years after completion of the National Youth Service Corps programme, or exemption from it, and only once the beneficiary is gainfully employed.
Monthly deductions are capped at 10 per cent of the beneficiary’s gross income or salary, deducted at source by employers where applicable.
Self-employed beneficiaries are expected to remit a similar portion of their income.
Those who remain unemployed after the two-year period can seek extensions by providing a sworn statement.
