President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday approved the diversion of unclaimed dividends and looted money recovered by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to fund the Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NELFund).
Unclaimed dividends in Nigeria stand at about N242 billion, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Nigeria,
Over the years, the fund has grown steadily, from about N158.4 billion in 2019 and N190 billion in 2023 due to outdated shareholder records, estate management issues for deceased relatives, and missing bank account links, amongst others
Tunji Alausa, minister of education, revealed this while fielding State House Journalists, after the fourth meeting of the Federal Executive Council FEC, presided over by President Bola Tinubu, at the presidential Villa, Abuja.
Alausa disclosed that the President directed Lateef Fagbemi, the Attorney General and Minister of Justice to work with the Education Ministry to remove all bottlenecks that may hinder the implementation of the new federal government policy
BusinessDay checks shows that the EFCC has so far recovered over N566 billion and $411 million in monetary assets.
Alausa also revealed that the directives affects only cash recovered by the EFCC, excluding other assets
He revealed that the Federal Executive Council also approved the commencement of work at the abandoned national library building, Abuja, with the release of funds, including the N25 billion realised from the First Lady, Oluremi Tinubu’s birthday fund raising on her 65th birthday.