President Bola Tinubu has declared that all funds recovered by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) will be channelled into the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), insisting that the decision cannot be reversed.

The President made the declaration on Friday at the inauguration of Arise Palm Resort in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital.

Tinubu said the policy was aimed at reducing the financial burden of tuition fees on parents and providing equal educational opportunities for Nigerians, regardless of their economic circumstances.

According to him, education remains a critical tool for combating poverty and creating opportunities for future generations.

“I feel your pain and share in the difficulty, and that’s why I decided to take away the responsibility of tuition fees from parents and equal opportunities for everyone who wants to read, taking education as the greatest weapon against poverty,” he said.

The President further explained that proceeds from the government's anti-corruption efforts would be redirected towards strengthening the student loan programme.

“And creating opportunities for those who are still coming behind. From today on, as we are fighting corruption, any money recovered by EFCC will be dumped into that education programme. It will be. No one can reverse it,” he stated.

Tinubu had earlier, on August 19, directed the EFCC to remit all recovered funds to NELFUND as part of efforts to expand access to higher education.

The Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, announced the directive while briefing State House correspondents after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting on the same day.

Alausa also disclosed that the council approved the transfer of all unclaimed dividends in the Capital Market Trust Fund and funds in the Dormant Account Trust Fund to the student loan scheme to strengthen its funding and improve access for beneficiaries.

Meanwhile, EFCC Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, revealed during a press briefing in Abuja on August 31 that the Federal Government had allocated ₦100 billion from funds recovered by the commission to the student loan programme since 2024.

Olukoyede explained that using recovered proceeds of crime to support education financing and household credit would give anti-corruption efforts a broader developmental impact by redirecting recovered assets towards productive national investment.