ICPC denies irregularities in student loan disbursement
Blames miscommunication on typos
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has clarified that there are currently no identified discrepancies in the disbursement of student loans managed by the Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NELFUND).
In a statement released on Thursday, ICPC spokesperson Demola Bakare explained that a typographical error in an earlier communication had led to public misinterpretation, mistakenly suggesting irregularities in the loan scheme.
According to Bakare, the omission of the word “not” in the penultimate paragraph of the initial statement created the false impression that the commission had uncovered evidence of fund mismanagement or diversion.
The original statement, titled “ICPC Launches Comprehensive Investigation into Discrepancies in Student Loan Disbursement”, was issued in response to media reports alleging that 51 tertiary institutions were making unauthorized deductions under the NELFUND scheme.
Clarifying the commission’s current position, Bakare stated that the ICPC has so far only verified the total amount of funds received and disbursed by NELFUND.
He emphasized that while investigations are still ongoing, there have been no conclusive findings of discrepancies or fraud.
“We acknowledge that the omission of the word ‘not’ created a misleading narrative,” he said.
“At this point, there is no confirmed case of misappropriation. Ongoing investigations will determine the final outcome.”
