The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has cleared the air that there are no discrepancies in the student loan disbursements by the Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) and urged persons with information of value to contact the commission.
This position of ICPC corroborates the earlier reported rebuttal by NELFUND as reported by ValidViewNetwork.
A statement issued on Thursday by Demola Bakare, ICPC spokesperson, said the absence of “not” in the agency’s earlier statement created an impression of alleged discrepancies in the disbursement of the loans.
Earlier on Thursday, Bakare released a statement titled: ‘ICPC Launches Comprehensive Investigation into Discrepancies in Student Loan Disbursement’. The said statement created the misconception and misinformation on the social media, ValidViewNetwork reports.
While some people believed that money had been stolen, diverted or mismanaged , others believed that the system put in place would not have given room for manipulation.
The statement, by the ICPC spokesperson had hinted that investigation was prompted by a recent media report claiming that 51 tertiary institutions were involved in illegal deductions and exploitation related to the NELFUND scheme.
The statement partly read : “The ICPC confirmed that a clear case of discrepancies has been established in the administration of the student loan scheme and announced that its investigation will now extend to beneficiary institutions and individual student recipients.”
However, clarifying the earlier statement, Bakare said the absence of “not” in the second to the last paragraph contradicted the line of thought in the whole document.
The ICPC spokesperson said, “commission has only established the total amount of funds received and disbursed so far by NELFUND”.
Bakare said the next line of investigation to the receiving institutions and persons would be completed before any “reasonable deduction” can be made.
“Unintentionally, the word “NOT” was missing in the second to the last paragraph of our earlier press release in respect of an ongoing investigation regarding Student Loan Scheme,” the statement reads.
“The missing word created an erroneous impression that the alleged discrepancies or diversion has been established.
“We admit that this is not the case, indeed we accept that the same part of the sentence also contradicted the whole paragraph.
“The impression of diversion and the issue of discrepancies do not exist at this stage; the investigation would have to move into the receiving institutions and persons before any reasonable deductions could be made.”
“The paragraph ought to read: The ICPC confirmed that a clear case of discrepancies has NOT been established in the administration of the student loan scheme and announced that its investigation will now extend to beneficiary institutions and individual student recipients.”
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“It is hereby reiterated that the commission does not engage in media trials nor does it usurp the power of the judiciary to indict persons or organisations.”
The general public is urged to exercise patience as thorough investigations require time and ample resources. However, persons with information of value are encouraged to reach out to the Commission through info@icpc.gov.ng
The earlier error, though already corrected on our Website, is regretted. Our investigations are still ongoing, and there are no indictments yet, he concluded