By Clifford Ejenavi
The Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has reinforced its commitment to transparency, accountability and integrity-driven service delivery, as it took centre stage at the 2025 Gani Fawehinmi Impact and Integrity Award Lecture held on Wednesday 10th December, 2025 at the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Lagos.
The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of NELFUND, Mr. Akintunde Sawyerr, who was the Special Guest and Award Lecturer, with the lecture titled “Education, Integrity and the Future: Laying the Foundation for an Equitable and Sustainable Nigeria through Accountability and Access to Opportunities” was represented by the Director of Strategic Communications, Mrs. Oseyemi Oluwatuyi.
The event, anchored on this year’s Human Rights Day theme, “Our Rights, Our Future, Right Now”, brought together stakeholders committed to deepening accountability, integrity, and youth empowerment in Nigeria.
NELFUND representatives at the event alongside Mrs. Oluwatuyi include Senior Manager, Strategic Communications, Folayemi Ogunniya; Technical Assistant to the MD, Nasir Ayitogo; Personal Assistant to the MD, Yomi Gbadamosi and Deputy Manager, ACTU, Cecilia Ogwuche.
The 2025 Gani Fawehinmi Impact and Integrity Award Lecture, was organised by the Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA).
Mr. Sawyerr described integrity as the “bedrock of public trust,” noting that the Fund was deliberately built on systems and processes designed to eliminate human interference, favouritism and institutional bottlenecks in the administration of student loans.
He said the Fund’s nationwide operations were anchored on a strict principle of openness, adding that the Fund’s digital architecture ensures that beneficiaries are selected through an automated, merit-based platform accessible in all states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
“At NELFUND, integrity is not an option; it is a mandatory standard. Every process, from application to approval, is fully transparent, traceable and anchored on fairness. This is our contribution to strengthening public institutions and deepening citizens’ confidence in government reforms,” he said.
Mr. Sawyerr noted that by December 2025, the Fund had onboarded hundreds of higher institutions and processed applications for hundreds of thousands of students without a single case of manual interference, a record he said validates the purpose for which NELFUND was established.
