The Impartial Corrupt Practices and Different Associated Offences Fee (ICPC) has issued a public clarification, stating that it has not established any discrepancies or diversion of funds within the ongoing investigation of the Pupil Mortgage Scheme managed by NELFUND.
The clarification, revealed on the Fee’s web site, follows an earlier press launch that it has commenced a complete probe into alleged discrepancies surrounding the disbursement of scholar loans.
ICPC admitted to the omission of the phrase “NOT,” creating the misunderstanding that fraud had already been detected.
“Unintentionally, the phrase ‘NOT’ was lacking within the second-to-last paragraph of our earlier press launch in respect of an ongoing investigation relating to the Pupil Mortgage Scheme. The lacking phrase created an inaccurate impression that the alleged discrepancies or diversion had been established.
We admit that this isn’t the case, certainly, we settle for that the identical a part of the sentence additionally contradicted the entire paragraph.
The paragraph must learn: The ICPC confirmed {that a} clear case of discrepancies has NOT been established within the administration of the coed mortgage scheme and introduced that its investigation will now prolong to beneficiary establishments and particular person scholar recipients,” the assertion learn.
No proof of diversion
The ICPC made it clear that, at this stage of the investigation, no circumstances of diversion or discrepancies have been discovered. It said that the one truth established up to now is the full quantity of funds obtained and disbursed by NELFUND.
“The impression of diversion and the problem of discrepancies don’t exist at this stage; the investigation must transfer into the receiving establishments and individuals earlier than any cheap deductions could possibly be made,” they famous
The Fee additional emphasised its dedication to due course of and famous that it doesn’t indict people or establishments prematurely.
“It’s hereby reiterated that the fee doesn’t interact in media trials nor does it usurp the ability of the judiciary to indict individuals or organisations,” they said
Backstory
The Impartial Corrupt Practices and Different Associated Offences Fee (ICPC) had earlier launched its personal investigation following a media report that alleged the involvement of 51 tertiary establishments in unlawful deductions from college students’ loans.
- Whereas the Federal Authorities reportedly launched N100 billion for the programme, the Fee mentioned solely N28.8 billion has been disbursed to college students, leaving N71.2 billion unaccounted for. As a part of the probe, the ICPC has invited NELFUND’s CEO, Akintunde Sawyerr, officers from the Central Bank of Nigeria, and others for questioning.
- Nonetheless, NELFUND has denied any wrongdoing. It said that public figures circulating on-line relate to older training finance interventions that predate its official launch in 2024, and aren’t related to the present mortgage scheme.
- The company defined that institutional charges are paid on to verified establishments, whereas scholar allowances are despatched to verified bank accounts. It emphasised that its processes are totally automated, timestamped, and digitally tracked, eliminating any human interference.
The Federal Ministry of Training has additionally launched its personal investigation into the allegations. The ministry additionally arrange an pressing assembly with Vice Chancellors of affected universities and the NELFUND MD, scheduled for Might 6, 2025, to make sure accountability and reinforce its zero-tolerance stance on corruption.
To enhance transparency, the Ministry will introduce a compliance-tracking initiative with the Athena Centre, a countdown webpage, and an Annual College Transparency Index. College bursars and ICT Heads may also be educated on managing open-portal techniques for real-time mortgage transaction monitoring.
Public urged to stay calm
The Fee appealed for public persistence and inspired anybody with helpful info to return ahead and assist the continued investigation.
“Most of the people is urged to train persistence as thorough investigations require time and ample assets. Nonetheless, individuals with info of worth are inspired to achieve out to the Fee by means of [email protected],” they famous
ICPC acknowledged the error in its earlier launch has been corrected model and up to date on its web site.
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