The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has dismissed as false, a viral social media document claiming that the Federal Government has suspended the payment of upkeep allowances under the Student Loan Scheme for the 2025/2026 academic session.

The Fund said the document, dated July 10 and purportedly issued by its Director of Strategic Communications, Mrs. Oseyemi Oluwatuyi, was fabricated and did not originate from NELFUND.

In a statement reported by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday, Oluwatuyi urged students and the general public to disregard the false information and rely only on NELFUND’s official communication channels for verified updates.

She clarified that neither the Federal Government nor NELFUND had announced or approved any suspension of upkeep allowance payments to eligible beneficiaries.

According to her, the fake document falsely claimed that funds meant for May, June and subsequent months had not been released, resulting in a temporary suspension of payments pending further allocations.

Oluwatuyi said the claims were untrue, stressing that both tuition and upkeep allowance disbursements were continuing in line with NELFUND’s mandate to provide financial support to eligible students in public tertiary institutions across the country.

She also warned that fabricated publications and AI-generated content were increasingly being used to spread misinformation and undermine public confidence in government programmes.

The NELFUND spokesperson advised students, parents, educational institutions and other stakeholders to verify information about the student loan scheme through the Fund’s official platforms before sharing it.

She reaffirmed NELFUND’s commitment to transparency and accountability, assuring eligible beneficiaries that approved tuition and upkeep payments would continue in accordance with the programme’s established guidelines.