No fresh recruitment for NELFUND, 80% staff redundant — Ministry Source
By Uji A Iliyasu Abuja
No recruitment for NELFUND
Credible sources within the Federal Ministry of Education have dismissed claims by a leading newspaper that the Minister of Education is responsible for delaying the resumption of newly recruited staff at the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), describing the report as false and misleading.
According to the sources, there is no board approval for any recruitment exercise at NELFUND, as the agency is already overstaffed, with many personnel lacking office space and defined schedules of duty.
They explained that before the Minister’s involvement, the Executive Management team had met in Lagos with the Chairman, Mr Jim Ovia, who halted the recruitment process on the grounds that it lacked board approval and had not been formally reviewed by management.
The sources said three executive directors who requested evidence of proper authorisation from the Managing Director were ignored, yet the MD proceeded independently with recruitment and documentation outside official channels.
The Chairman reportedly instructed that those recruited through the process should not be added to the payroll and ordered a comprehensive review of staff ranks to ensure transparency and compliance.
Following a subsequent visit by management to the Minister’s office, the MD is said to have convened a private meeting with close aides and vowed to proceed with the exercise regardless of approval.
For verification, the sources recommended contacting the Board Secretary and the Executive Director of Operations, who they said could confirm the recruitment freeze and staff rank review instructions issued in Lagos.
The sources further disclosed that approximately 80 per cent of NELFUND’s workforce is currently redundant, a concern unanimously acknowledged at a recent management meeting attended by four key leaders, who agreed that urgent action was needed to address the crisis.
“At this stage, we simply cannot afford to increase staffing,” one source said.
They added that the Minister’s intervention had been instrumental in averting organisational collapse at the agency.