The Nigerian Education Loan Fund has disclosed that staff recruited in January 2025 are yet to resume duty following a directive from the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, ordering a halt to the agency's recruitment exercise.

The Managing Director, Akintunde Sawyerr, confirmed the development in an exclusive interview on Monday, saying the agency had no authority to override the ministerial directive despite having conducted the recruitment in good faith.

"NELFUND has a dual mandate: academic and skills acquisition. Those who were recruited but have yet to assume duties were recruited in good faith in the fulfilment of that mandate. There is no doubt about this. But the Minister of Education, who is our supervising minister, asked us to put an embargo on employment after the recruitment exercise. This is the simple situation," he said.

The affected employees received letters of engagement on January 14, 2025, and completed all required documentation by February 3, 2025. Nearly 18 months later, they have received no official communication on when they will resume.

The prolonged wait prompted the workers, operating under the group New NELFUND Employees Awaiting Resumption, to petition the Minister of Education and the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Student Loans, Scholarships and Higher Education Financing, Ifeoluwa Ehindero. Ehindero subsequently confirmed that the committee would intervene in the matter.

Sawyerr indicated that the agency remained committed to engaging the affected staff if the embargo was lifted, responding in the affirmative when asked whether they would be contacted once approval was granted.

The situation has left many of the successful applicants in significant difficulty, with a number having resigned from previous positions or made financial commitments in anticipation of resuming at the agency.

The 2025 recruitment was designed to strengthen NELFUND's workforce in support of its student loan operations and expanding skills acquisition programme, both of which form part of its statutory mandate under the Student Loans (Access to Higher Education) Act.

NELFUND commenced operations in 2024 as a flagship Federal Government initiative to expand access to higher education through interest free student financing. The agency has since disbursed billions of naira in tuition and upkeep loans across public tertiary institutions nationwide.