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President Bola Tinubu has officially signed the Students Loan Bill into law on Wednesday in Abuja.
Mr Tinubu signed the bill in a short ceremony at the State House in the presence of the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, Deputy President of the Senate, Barau Jibrin, The Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, the Minister and Minister of State for Education, Hannatu Musawa, the Minister of State for Youth, Ayodele Olawande, the president of the National Association of Nigerian Students, other government officials and aides to the president.
Tinubu initially signed the student loan bill into law back in June 2023, to offer financial assistance to Nigerian students in tertiary institutions
The Act, popularly known as the Students Loan Bill seeks to provide loans for indigent Nigerian students to pay fees in Nigerian tertiary institutions.
Tinubu said that this action showed the administration’s priority towards encouraging education among Nigerian youths as a tool to fighting poverty.
“We are determined to ensure that education is given the proper attention necessary for the country including skills development programmes.
“This is to ensure that no one, no matter how poor their background, is excluded from quality education and opportunity to build their future.
“We are here because we are all educated and we are helped. In the past, we have seen a lot of our children dropped out of colleges and given up the opportunity,” he said.
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Mr Tinubu said that the loan would ensure that the standard and control of the scheme are applied without discrimination against a Nigerian citizen.
The act establishes the Nigerian Education Loan Fund which is expected to handle all loan requests, grants, disbursement and recovery of the loans provided
NELFUND, according to the Act, is to be funded from multiple streams and will engage in other productive activities.
Its sources of funding as dictated by the Act include; one per cent of all profits accruing to the federal government from oil and other minerals.
It also include one per cent of taxes, levies and duties accruing to the federal government from the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) and Nigerian Customs Service (NCS); education bonds and education endowment fund schemes.
The Loan will also be funded through donations, gifts, grants, endowment and revenue accruing to the fund from any other source, according to the Act.
