The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, has suggested that some students may have received funding from the Nigerian Education Loan Fund without their parents’ knowledge.

Oyedele made the remark while responding to an audience member who said his three children in school had not received NELFUND funding and were unaware of any friends who had received the financial support.

Speaking at a media briefing in Abuja on Wednesday, Oyedele urged the journalist to ask his children whether they had applied for the scheme and to demand evidence of their applications.

“It is possible they’ve collected the money, and they are collecting from you,” the minister said.

He added, “You need to ask your children to be honest with you.”

Oyedele said the man could assist his children to apply if they had not already done so.

“If there’s anything that everyone can attest to, it is this NELFUND,” he said.

The minister also pointed to videos of students celebrating after receiving the support, noting that the scheme covered more than tuition.

“We’ve seen video of student randomly rejoicing because it’s not only the tuition that was being paid, they get monthly stipend interest free in a high inflationary environment,” he said.

Oyedele said students could access up to N1.5m through the scheme and urged parents who were unsure about the process to help their children apply.

“You can go to the website. In fact, what you can do, ask any of those your three children to give you their details. Help them apply.

“If you can’t find the link, come to Ministry of Finance. We will help you. You will do it yourself. You apply for one of those three children and you get the amount,” he said.

The minister said the journalist should also find out whether his children had actually applied for the scheme.

“The Honourable Minister is saying we should even ask you whether they’ve shown you the evidence that they applied. You need to go and ask them,” he said.

Oyedele further disclosed that the uptake of NELFUND support was higher in the northern part of the country than in the South.

“Interestingly, the uptake is more in the North than in the South because we spend all our energy here doubting everything that government does,” he said.

He said the government’s own experience with the scheme showed that beneficiaries had been receiving alerts after applying.

Oyedele also recalled his experience supporting indigent students through a personal foundation, saying some beneficiaries continued to approach him for assistance even after he had directed them to apply for available support.

“Many of them were still coming to me after I said go and apply. I sent link to them within two weeks. They said we got alerts,” he said.