President Bola Tinubu has directed that all cleared and unencumbered looted funds recovered by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) be channeled to the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFund) to strengthen the financing of tertiary education.

The President also directed that funds in the Unclaimed Dividends Trust Fund and the Dormant Accounts Trust Fund be mobilised for NELFund, subject to compliance with the laws establishing the two funds.

The Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, disclosed this on Wednesday while briefing journalists at the State House, Abuja, after the fourth Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting of the year, presided over by President Tinubu.

Alausa, who described the decisions as a major boost for Nigerian students, clarified that the directive concerning EFCC recoveries applies strictly to liquid funds that have been legally recovered and are no longer subject to litigation.

He stressed that seized properties, assets, or funds still encumbered by court cases would not be transferred to NELFund.

According to him, the President directed the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Minister of Finance, Ministry of Education, the Debt Management Office and other relevant agencies to work out the legal and operational frameworks for transferring the affected funds.

The Attorney-General, he added, would also work with the EFCC Chairman to identify recovered funds that are legally available for transfer.

“The President was very clear: not seized properties, all recovered looted funds, liquid funds recovered by the EFCC will now be transferred to NELFUND”, the minister said.

Alausa explained that the government would similarly examine the existing legislation governing the Unclaimed Dividends Trust Fund and Dormant Accounts Trust Fund to determine the appropriate legal steps required to make the resources available to NELFund.

He said President Tinubu insisted that only funds free of legal encumbrances would be affected by the directive.

“Every single fund that is still subject to a legal challenge will not be part of the money that will be transferred to NELFUND. The funds that will be transferred will be all cleared funds, unencumbered funds that were looted, funds that legally belonged to Nigeria, to Nigerians,” he said.

The minister said the President considered education one of the most productive uses for recovered public funds, especially as the administration seeks to build the human capital required to drive its ambition of growing Nigeria into a $1 trillion economy.

According to him, the decision is intended to put NELFund on a sustainable financial footing as demand for the student loan scheme continues to expand.

Alausa said more than 1.2 million Nigerian students are currently benefiting from NELFund, adding that the agency has disbursed more than N93 billion as upkeep allowances to students in Federal and State-owned public institutions.

He said more than N250 billion had also been disbursed as institutional fees to public tertiary institutions across the country.

“The education of our children cannot wait; it is of utmost importance to him, and he will do anything and everything to protect the future of every single Nigerian child, every single Nigerian student”, Alausa said of the President.

He described the student loan programme as fulfilment of one of Tinubu’s campaign promises to broaden access to tertiary education irrespective of students’ financial backgrounds.

The minister also addressed complaints about institutions withholding refunds from students who had already paid school fees before NELFund subsequently remitted their institutional charges.

He said the government had established a framework requiring institutions to refund affected students within a stipulated period, saying the widespread difficulties reported during the early stages of the scheme had been resolved.

According to him, any outstanding individual case brought to the ministry’s attention would be investigated.

Meanwhile, the FEC approved an augmentation of about N118.31 billion to complete the long-abandoned National Library of Nigeria headquarters complex in Abuja, as well as about N37 billion to furnish it.

Alausa said the National Library project, which commenced on April 29, 2006 and was originally scheduled for completion within two years, had remained abandoned since work stopped in October 2008.

He said President Tinubu had directed the ministry to mobilise resources to revive the project, including funding sourced through the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund).

The minister also acknowledged the contribution of First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, who had requested that gifts for her birthday be directed toward completing the National Library.

According to him, the initiative raised about N25 billion towards the project.

“The council today approved the augmentation of the existing contract for the completion of the construction of the National Library of Nigeria headquarters building complex in Abuja”, he said, adding that the government hoped construction would resume within the next few months.

Alausa said FEC also approved the establishment of the Nigerian Academy for the Gifted and Talented, which would emerge from the transformation of the existing Suleja Academy.

He explained that Suleja Academy was established to identify and nurture exceptionally gifted Nigerian children but had, over the years, operated largely like one of the Federal Government Colleges, preventing it from fully achieving its original mandate.

Under the proposed arrangement, the institution would become an autonomous academy with its own governing structure and diversified funding sources, including federal appropriation, endowments, and gifts.

According to the minister, the academy would identify gifted children across the country and provide an environment in which their abilities could be developed for innovation and national development.

FEC consequently approved the preparation of an executive bill by the Attorney-General of the Federation for transmission to the National Assembly to give legal effect to the transformation.

“We have to look for every single genius in this country and bring them in, nurture them, and let them help create the Nigeria of tomorrow,” Alausa said.

Council also approved the deployment and implementation of an Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Business Incubation Certification programme in selected Nigerian universities.

Alausa described the initiative as a technology-driven programme designed to equip university students with entrepreneurship, innovation, business incubation, enterprise development and digital skills, backed by certification, mentorship and incubation support.

He said the programme, which had already been tested at the University of Lagos, was designed to change the orientation of graduates from merely seeking employment to becoming entrepreneurs, innovators and job creators.

According to him, the programme will begin this year in 14 federal universities before being expanded to other tertiary institutions.

The initial participating institutions are: Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria; Bayero University, Kano; Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka; Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife; University of Abuja; University of Benin; University of Ibadan; University of Ilorin; University of Jos; University of Lagos; University of Maiduguri; University of Nigeria, Nsukka; University of Port Harcourt; and Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto.

Alausa said the approvals reflected the administration’s determination to position education at the centre of Nigeria’s economic transformation and ensure that young Nigerians acquire both academic knowledge and practical capabilities required to participate in the emerging economy.

He said President Tinubu has given the education ministry a clear mandate to ensure that every Nigerian child has access to education of a quality comparable with standards obtainable elsewhere in the world.