The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has denied approving any fresh recruitment into the agency, dismissing reports that blamed the Minister of Education for delaying the resumption of newly recruited staff.
In a statement issued by Femi Akinfala on behalf of the agency, NELFUND described the allegations against the minister as false and misleading, insisting that no approval had been granted for any recruitment exercise.
According to the statement, the Chairman of NELFUND, Mr. Jim Ovia, had directed that all recruitment processes be halted during a board meeting in Lagos after it was established that there was no formal approval for new appointments.
The agency said the decision followed concerns that it was already overstaffed, with many employees lacking office space and clearly defined responsibilities.
The statement further alleged that despite objections raised by three executive directors, the Managing Director proceeded with the recruitment outside the board’s approval process.
It said the chairman subsequently directed that all persons recruited without authorisation should not be placed on the agency’s payroll and also ordered a comprehensive review of staff ranks and placements.
Akinfala stated that about 80 per cent of NELFUND’s workforce was considered redundant, describing the situation as one that management unanimously acknowledged required urgent attention.
He added that the Board Secretary and the Executive Director of Operations could verify the directives issued at the Lagos meeting regarding the recruitment freeze.
NELFUND maintained that the intervention of the Minister of Education helped avert what it described as a further deterioration of the agency’s organisational structure.
