Stakeholders in the education and policy sectors have questioned the federal government’s recent configuration of the board of the National Education Loan Fund (NELFund) and asked if these men can be trusted with student loan funds?
The board is comprised of the erstwhile chief executive officer/managing of Zenith Bank Plc, Jim Ovia as chairman of board, Akintunde Sawyerr as Managing Director & CEO, Femi Akinfala as ED, Finance and Admin, Mustapha Iyal as ED, Operations and Oluwafunmilayo Alagbada as board Secretary/General Counsel.
Following a presidential approval, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) recently released N50 billion from recovered crime proceeds to the NELFund for the student loan initiative.
As of August 2, NELFund said it had disbursed over N2.5 billion to more than 22,120 applicants in the student loan scheme. Although hopes are high among Nigerian students from low-income homes that there is some succour for them to fund their education.
However, some are concerned if there will be transparency and accountability in the management of the funds. Akintunde Moses, a Lagos-based policy analyst has jokingly asked: ‘hope the recovered loot will not be re-looted?’
Jim Ovia was recently appointed to the NELFund in April 2024 as the pioneer board chairman of NELFund. He is a renowned banker and businessman. He is the founder and chairman of Zenith Bank, one of Africa’s largest banks with over $24 billion in assets and shareholders’ funds of over $3 billion as of June 2022. Ovia is an alumnus of the Harvard Business School (OPM), University of Louisiana (MBA), and Southern University in Louisiana (BSc Business Administration).
Mr. Moses opined that Ovia’s bank was recently embroiled in a dispute with Femi Otedola, acclaimed strong man of the money and capital markets, over allegations of fraud. Otedola filed a court case against Zenith Bank, alleging that it dishonestly disposed of his shares. He also accused Zenith Bank of unlawfully using the account of his company, Seaforce Shipping Limited, to trade in 2011 without his knowledge or consent.
However, the issues were eventually settled out of court, he added.
There are also some question marks on the pioneer MD/CEO of NELFund, Akintunde Sawyerr too. Sawyerr has been the face of NELFund, serving as its pioneer MD since the scheme rolled out in 2023.
Prior to his appointment, he worked with several multinationals across the logistics, agricultural development, and healthcare sectors. From 2013 to 2018, he served as the Sub-Saharan Africa operations head at Medtronic, an American-Irish medical device company. In 2010, he was an international advisor for the Supply Chain and Logistics Group in the UAE, where he provided strategic guidance. In 2009, Sawyerr served as the Sub-Saharan Africa director at EBRAM Investments in Saudi Arabia.
His expertise also extends to the life sciences, consumer products, and oil & gas sectors, where he managed operations across 21 countries in the Middle East, North Africa, and Turkey for DHL in 2007. Sawyerr was also the head of the supply chain for London at DHL EXEL Supply Chain. He founded the Produce Export Development Association (PEDA), formerly known as AFGEAN.
For Femi Akinfala, ED, Finance & Admin at NELFund, he has written a series of articles on NELFund to enlighten Nigerians on its importance and limitations, promising that it would do its best to meet the yearnings of the students.
“NELFUND is determined to fulfil the desires of President Bola Tinubu and the Renewed Hope agenda. It is a pan-Nigerian policy, which is non-discriminatory, and will ensure equal access to every eligible Nigerian student, regardless of tribe, religion, or language,” he wrote in one of his interventions.
In another article, he wrote that “the Nigeria Education Loan Fund stands as a critical intervention in the pursuit of social justice in Nigeria. By addressing the financial barriers to higher education, empowering marginalised people, and fostering inclusive economic development, the NELFUND has the potential to catalyse a more just and equitable future for the country,” Akinfala stated.
Akinfala is used to being a pioneer. He was the first director of HR and general services of the Nigeria Police Trust Fund (NPTF), which was founded in 2019. He was among the officials questioned during a 2021 anti-graft inquiry into the spending of a N1.6 billion NPTF take-off grant.
He was also questioned over the procurement of sub-standard equipment that gulped part of the N11 billion donated funds. The procurement of 640 sub-standard bullet proof vests, 120 ballistic helmets and 120 buffalo fans for the police by the NPTF management was investigated by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC). The outcome of the probe was never made public.
Executive Director, Operations at NELund, Mustapha Iyal is a 2013 Computer Application & IT graduate of Jamia Hamdard Institute in New Delhi, India. Over the last decade, Iyal has worked as an IT Project Manager and Operations Director on projects across diverse industries. He designs and implements scalable IT infrastructure to leverage emerging technologies for business process optimisation.
Between 2011 and 2013, he was an assistant network engineer at the Indian Institute of Hardware Technology. He returned to Nigeria post-graduation to work as a network administrator at the Kaduna State AIDS Control Agency. Iyal worked with the Partnership for Advocacy in Child and Family Health (PACFaH) as a monitoring and evaluation officer between 2015 and 2016.
Until late 2018, he was the assistant to the MD of Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement Systems (NIBSS) PLC. From 2019 to 2023, Iyal was a personal assistant to the deputy governor of operations at the CBN. He obtained a master’s in information management in 2023.
Taking a dive into Oluwafunmilayo Alagbada, Board Secretary/General Counsel, before joining the NELFund board in 2024, Alagbada was a legal practitioner. She was the vice president for West Africa at the pan-African investment firm Platform Capital between 2022 and 2023. Alagbada was the company secretary and head of HR at Strand Capital Partners Limited between 2008 and 2012.She obtained her LLB from the University of Buckingham UK in 1997 and an MA in International Business from Bournemouth University in 2001. Alagbada has worked largely for private sector firms and non-profits.
According to Nnamdi Chukwuebuka, a legal practitioner and educator, “The composition of these individuals still has not convinced many Nigerians that these funds would be judiciously managed because some of the board members still have question marks over the past dealings.”
Following a presidential approval, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) recently released N50 billion from recovered crime proceeds to the NELFund for the student loan initiative.
As of August 2, NELFund said it had disbursed over N2.5 billion to more than 22,120 applicants in the student loan scheme. Although hopes are high among Nigerian students from low-income homes that there is some succour for them to fund their education.
However, some are concerned if there will be transparency and accountability in the management of the funds. Akintunde Moses, a Lagos-based policy analyst has jokingly asked: ‘hope the recovered loot will not be re-looted?’
Jim Ovia was recently appointed to the NELFund in April 2024 as the pioneer board chairman of NELFund. He is a renowned banker and businessman. He is the founder and chairman of Zenith Bank, one of Africa’s largest banks with over $24 billion in assets and shareholders’ funds of over $3 billion as of June 2022. Ovia is an alumnus of the Harvard Business School (OPM), University of Louisiana (MBA), and Southern University in Louisiana (BSc Business Administration).
Mr. Moses opined that Ovia’s bank was recently embroiled in a dispute with Femi Otedola, acclaimed strong man of the money and capital markets, over allegations of fraud. Otedola filed a court case against Zenith Bank, alleging that it dishonestly disposed of his shares. He also accused Zenith Bank of unlawfully using the account of his company, Seaforce Shipping Limited, to trade in 2011 without his knowledge or consent.
However, the issues were eventually settled out of court, he added.
There are also some question marks on the pioneer MD/CEO of NELFund, Akintunde Sawyerr too. Sawyerr has been the face of NELFund, serving as its pioneer MD since the scheme rolled out in 2023.
Prior to his appointment, he worked with several multinationals across the logistics, agricultural development, and healthcare sectors. From 2013 to 2018, he served as the Sub-Saharan Africa operations head at Medtronic, an American-Irish medical device company. In 2010, he was an international advisor for the Supply Chain and Logistics Group in the UAE, where he provided strategic guidance. In 2009, Sawyerr served as the Sub-Saharan Africa director at EBRAM Investments in Saudi Arabia.
His expertise also extends to the life sciences, consumer products, and oil & gas sectors, where he managed operations across 21 countries in the Middle East, North Africa, and Turkey for DHL in 2007. Sawyerr was also the head of the supply chain for London at DHL EXEL Supply Chain. He founded the Produce Export Development Association (PEDA), formerly known as AFGEAN.
For Femi Akinfala, ED, Finance & Admin at NELFund, he has written a series of articles on NELFund to enlighten Nigerians on its importance and limitations, promising that it would do its best to meet the yearnings of the students.
“NELFUND is determined to fulfil the desires of President Bola Tinubu and the Renewed Hope agenda. It is a pan-Nigerian policy, which is non-discriminatory, and will ensure equal access to every eligible Nigerian student, regardless of tribe, religion, or language,” he wrote in one of his interventions.
In another article, he wrote that “the Nigeria Education Loan Fund stands as a critical intervention in the pursuit of social justice in Nigeria. By addressing the financial barriers to higher education, empowering marginalised people, and fostering inclusive economic development, the NELFUND has the potential to catalyse a more just and equitable future for the country,” Akinfala stated.
Akinfala is used to being a pioneer. He was the first director of HR and general services of the Nigeria Police Trust Fund (NPTF), which was founded in 2019. He was among the officials questioned during a 2021 anti-graft inquiry into the spending of a N1.6 billion NPTF take-off grant.
He was also questioned over the procurement of sub-standard equipment that gulped part of the N11 billion donated funds. The procurement of 640 sub-standard bullet proof vests, 120 ballistic helmets and 120 buffalo fans for the police by the NPTF management was investigated by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC). The outcome of the probe was never made public.
Executive Director, Operations at NELund, Mustapha Iyal is a 2013 Computer Application & IT graduate of Jamia Hamdard Institute in New Delhi, India. Over the last decade, Iyal has worked as an IT Project Manager and Operations Director on projects across diverse industries. He designs and implements scalable IT infrastructure to leverage emerging technologies for business process optimisation.
Between 2011 and 2013, he was an assistant network engineer at the Indian Institute of Hardware Technology. He returned to Nigeria post-graduation to work as a network administrator at the Kaduna State AIDS Control Agency. Iyal worked with the Partnership for Advocacy in Child and Family Health (PACFaH) as a monitoring and evaluation officer between 2015 and 2016.
Until late 2018, he was the assistant to the MD of Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement Systems (NIBSS) PLC. From 2019 to 2023, Iyal was a personal assistant to the deputy governor of operations at the CBN. He obtained a master’s in information management in 2023.
Taking a dive into Oluwafunmilayo Alagbada, Board Secretary/General Counsel, before joining the NELFund board in 2024, Alagbada was a legal practitioner. She was the vice president for West Africa at the pan-African investment firm Platform Capital between 2022 and 2023. Alagbada was the company secretary and head of HR at Strand Capital Partners Limited between 2008 and 2012.She obtained her LLB from the University of Buckingham UK in 1997 and an MA in International Business from Bournemouth University in 2001. Alagbada has worked largely for private sector firms and non-profits.
According to Nnamdi Chukwuebuka, a legal practitioner and educator, “The composition of these individuals still has not convinced many Nigerians that these funds would be judiciously managed because some of the board members still have question marks over the past dealings.”
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