The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has disbursed a total of ₦375.28 billion to support students across Nigeria, with more than 1.67 million beneficiaries recorded since the commencement of its student loan programme in May 2024.

According to the Fund’s latest Student Loan Disbursement Report, generated on November 4, 2026, a total of 2,372,319 applications have been received since the launch of the programme on May 24, 2024.

The report showed that ₦194.77 billion had been paid directly to 320 beneficiary institutions to cover students’ institutional fees.

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It also disclosed that ₦180.51 billion had been disbursed as upkeep allowances to students, bringing the cumulative loan disbursement to ₦375,282,425,723.25.

NELFUND further recorded 11,451 applications on November 3, 2026, contributing to the cumulative figure of more than 2.37 million applications received since the programme began.

The latest figures represent an increase in the number of beneficiaries and participating institutions under the Federal Government’s student loan initiative.

The programme, introduced under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, is designed to improve access to higher education by providing financial assistance to eligible students facing difficulties paying their academic fees.

Under the arrangement, approved institutional fees are paid directly to students’ respective institutions, while beneficiaries also receive upkeep allowances to support their living expenses.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has revealed how his experience working as a taxi driver in the United States shaped his commitment to expanding access to education in Nigeria.

Tinubu said he drove a taxi as a young man after arriving in the US to raise money for his education, adding that he had to postpone starting school for several months to save enough funds.

The President disclosed this while highlighting his administration’s education reforms and investments under the Renewed Hope agenda.

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Recounting his struggles, Tinubu said he later worked different jobs after arriving in Chicago to support himself and pay his way through university.

He explained that his personal experience with the financial difficulties associated with pursuing higher education had strengthened his belief that every Nigerian child deserved equal educational opportunities, regardless of their background or their parents’ financial circumstances.

“Those experiences have stayed with me. I know what education made possible in my own life, and I believe every Nigerian child deserves that same opportunity,” he said.

Highlighting his administration’s interventions, Tinubu disclosed that over ₦372 billion had been provided through the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) to support students with institutional fees and upkeep.

He said the initiative was helping young Nigerians remain in school and pursue their educational ambitions.

The President also revealed that the government’s technical and vocational education programme had attracted over 2.8 million applications, while 38 technical colleges had been rehabilitated.

According to him, students in federal and selected state technical colleges now benefit from free school fees, boarding, textbooks and uniforms.

On university education, Tinubu said his administration had reached a new agreement with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), providing for a 40 per cent increase in academic staff remuneration and measures to improve stability in the country’s universities.

He stressed that students should be able to complete their academic programmes within the stipulated period.

“A four-year course must take four years. Our young people deserve to complete their education on time and get on with their lives,” he stated.

Tinubu further disclosed that the Federal Government was investing ₦110 billion in the rehabilitation of 24 medical schools.

He said annual nursing enrolment had increased from 28,000 to 115,000, while medical and dental enrolment had risen from 5,000 to 12,000.

The President added that over one million children who were previously out of school had returned to learning.

He also highlighted investments in teacher development, expanded educational opportunities for girls and the implementation of a new national curriculum that restores Nigerian History to classrooms.

Tinubu said the reforms were designed to ensure that Nigerian children understand their country’s history and are adequately prepared to contribute to its future.

He commended the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, Minister of State for Education, Professor Suwaiba Sa’id Ahmad, and the entire education team for their contributions to the ongoing reforms.

The President also announced the development of an interactive A–Z of the Nigeria Education Sector Renewal Initiative (NESRI), which brings together information on reforms, programmes, achievements and opportunities across the education sector.

He urged parents, students and teachers to visit edu4pbat.ng to explore available educational opportunities and programmes.

Tinubu encouraged Nigerians to provide feedback on challenges affecting education in their communities, noting that such information would help the government identify problems and address them.

He maintained that a child’s circumstances at birth should never determine the limits of their ambitions, stressing that his administration remained committed to providing every Nigerian child with a fair opportunity to fulfil their potential.

The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), has invited global investors to participate in the bid for the 2026 Licensing Round, which has 40 oil and gas blocks on offer.

The Commission Chief Executive, Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, informed investors at the 2026 ADIPEC Exhibition and Conference in Abu Dhabi on Monday, November 2, 2026 that Nigeria offers a stable climate amid global energy tensions.

She urged investors to look to Nigeria and take advantage of the opportunities and revealed that the licensing round portal will officially open on November 20, 2026.

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The NUPRC boss said this during a roundtable discussion titled, ‘Energy Sovereignty in an Interconnected World: Aligning National Priorities, Markets and Global Security’.

She said, “We are expecting investors to turn to Nigeria. We are going into another licensing round, and we will launch our bid portal on November 20. We expect to see interested investors because the environment is a lot more competitive.

“We have set a very attractive fiscal framework for investors. The overall environment is much more secure. We have been able to manage costs with a lot of incentives for investors, and we expect to see investors take up the offer when we open the portal.”

The NUPRC boss noted that since the passing of the Petroleum Industry Act in 2021, as well as the executive orders signed by President Bola Tinubu, Nigeria has seen an improved investment climate.

Eyesan said that between 2021 and 2026, the NUPRC held at least four successful licensing rounds, which brought more investment into the country.

This marks a departure from the pre-PIA era, when licensing rounds were less frequent.

The CCE said Nigeria has huge energy potential, as it sits on 215 TCF of gas, but daily production is barely 7 bcf.

This presents an opportunity to investors, especially as key gas infrastructure, such as pipelines, is being built, she said. The stars are already aligned. For gas infrastructure, we just completed very major infrastructure projects that will unlock gas supply in the country and the sub-region.”

We have two major projects on the drawing board to move gas through the Nigeria-Morocco Atlantic Gas Pipeline and the Trans-Sahara Gas Pipeline.

Again, this gas will go to Europe and will also meet regional demand. So, Nigeria is positioned to meet not just domestic supply,” the CCE stated.

Eyesan maintained that as many countries discover petroleum resources, the race for investment has become more competitive.

She said Nigeria was already ahead of the game, as it had made certain modifications to attract the right capital.

“We understand that investors will prize execution risk, cost, delays and also uncertainty, and so what we have done in Nigeria is to ensure that we guard against these risks and then attract the investment required to enable us to unlock the huge resources we sit on,” the NUPRC boss said.