President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday instructed that all liquid assets retrieved by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, alongside unclaimed dividends from both the Capital Market Trust Fund and the Dormant Account Trust Fund, be reallocated to the Nigerian Education Loan Fund to secure its enduring fiscal viability.
Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, revealed this while addressing State House reporters following the Federal Executive Council gathering chaired by Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Wednesday. The session marked the cabinet’s initial meeting since June 29.
Alausa stated, “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 presently total roughly N242bn, based on data from the Securities and Exchange Commission, expanding consistently from around N158.4bn in 2019 to N190bn in 2023 owing to obsolete shareholder documentation, unadministered estates of departed investors, and missing bank account connections, among other issues.
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The EFCC has independently retrieved exceeding N566bn and $411m in monetary assets across various periods, though Alausa specified that Wednesday’s mandate pertains exclusively to cash retrievals and omits confiscated real estate or non-monetary assets.
Alausa maintained that Tinubu had honored his electoral pledge through the creation of the scheme, disclosing that the initiative has assisted more than 1.2 million Nigerian scholars.
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 added that the President tasked the Attorney-General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), to collaborate with the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Education, and the Debt Management Office to execute the transfer of the unclaimed dividend reserves.
“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.”
