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Tinubu Orders Recovered Loot, Unclaimed Dividends, ‘Dormant Funds’ Sent to NELFund
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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.
The Minister of Defence, Gen. Christopher Musa, has accused a former Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, of deliberately planning the killing of people in Southern Kaduna.
Musa made the allegation while fielding questions on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme on Thursday.
The minister said El-Rufai’s administration created deep divisions in Kaduna State, alleging that the situation made it difficult for residents from Southern Kaduna to live freely in the northern part of the State and vice versa.
According to him, the administration of the current governor, Uba Sani, has made deliberate efforts to restore unity and rebuild trust among residents of the State.
“We know how it was when El-Rufai was there; it was toxic,” Musa said.
“El-Rufai did a lot of terrible things in Kaduna State. He divided the country, the State, into two. In that, if you are from the South, you cannot go to the North and live. Those ones from the North were moving to the South.
“Governor Sani within one year has been able to dissolve all that. You see, now everybody is free, everybody has a say. It’s not 100%. Let me tell you, it’s not 100%, but you can see that he’s making deliberate effort in uniting the state.”
Speaking on the feelings of people in Southern Kaduna towards the former governor, Musa said the people remained deeply pained over killings recorded in the area during El-Rufai’s tenure.
He alleged that El-Rufai deliberately planned the killing of people in the region.
“Well, I don’t know if unhappy is an issue. I think if there’s anything worse than unhappy, we can never be happy with somebody who has deliberately planned for the killing of our people,” Musa said.
“I mean, when you look at it, if you look at his videos, you know, his speeches, he was very proud of what he did.
“He told us he paid bandits. He told us he did this, he did that. He didn’t hide it. He was that arrogant to come out and tell people that this was what he did.”
The Defence Minister said residents of Southern Kaduna were still traumatised by the killings that occurred during the period, adding that the security situation in the area had improved under the current administration.
“The Southern Kaduna people are still very pained. Of course, definitely. I mean, if you look at the number of killings that was done there and what is going on now, you can’t compare at all,” he said.
Musa further accused El-Rufai of denying some people opportunities during his administration and alleged that the former governor’s policies affected even people from his own part of the state.
“I can tell you what he has done to people living in Kaduna from his own area. He did a lot of things that I’m sure even him is not proud of,” he added.
The minister, however, called on Nigerians to reject politicians who exploit religion, ethnicity and other differences to divide the country.
“We should get politicians that want to unite Nigeria. For me, any individual who is using either religion, tribe, creed, or anything to divide the state can never be a friend; can never be somebody we look up to,” Musa said.
“We shouldn’t have those kind of ones in government. Anybody who is using religion or tribe or whatever to divide Nigeria is an enemy of the State.”
President Bola Tinubu departed Abuja, the nation’s capital on Sunday for Europe to begin a three-week vacation as part of his annual leave.
Presidential spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, in a release disclosed that Tinubu’s first stop will be London, United Kingdom.
The President is expected to return home after the working vacation to join the hectic campaign for the January 2027 election.
Vice President Kashim Shettima had earlier this month went on two-week leave, his first since the Tinubu government assumed office over three years ago. He has since returned.
President Bola Tinubu has raised concerns with the African Union (AU) over repeated xenophobic and Afrophobic attacks against Africans and other foreign nationals in South Africa.
Tinubu urged African leaders to take collective action and include the issue on the agenda of the AU’s 40th Ordinary Session, scheduled for January 2027.
The president’s position was presented by Vice President Kashim Shettima at the 21st Extraordinary Session of the AU Assembly in Luanda, Angola.
Tinubu called on African leaders to renew their commitment to protecting the safety, dignity and rights of all Africans across the continent.
He said: “Nigeria wishes to express its concern over the recurring xenophobic and Afrophobic attacks against Africans and other nationals in South Africa.
“While recognising South Africa’s sovereign right to enforce its immigration laws and acknowledging its contributions to the continent, Nigeria stresses that such attacks undermine African solidarity, unity and peaceful coexistence, and require urgent collective attention.”
He added: “It is on this note that Nigeria calls on this august Assembly to place the matter on the agenda of the upcoming 40th Ordinary Session of the AU Assembly, scheduled for January 2027, for consideration and appropriate action.”
The president also urged the AU to strengthen efforts to tackle xenophobia and Afrophobia across the continent.
He stressed that “dialogue, preventive diplomacy, and collective action remained essential to preserving African unity.”
On Africa’s broader security challenges, Nigeria supported the adoption of the Luanda Action Plan as a way to improve conflict prevention.
Tinubu argued that preventing conflicts would be more sustainable and less expensive than dealing with them after they have started.
“For Nigeria, conflict prevention remains more cost-effective and sustainable than conflict management,” President Tinubu said.
He also warned that separate and uncoordinated peace efforts, as well as growing foreign involvement through military forces, mercenaries and private defence companies, could weaken Africa’s ability to manage its own conflicts.
Tinubu further called on countries that manufacture and export weapons to work more closely with African governments to prevent weapons and ammunition from being diverted to terrorists and other armed groups.
The president said the AU already has strong systems for preventing and resolving conflicts, but limited trust and poor implementation have continued to reduce their effectiveness.
