PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has written to the Senate, seeking repeal of the Students Loans Act 2023 and re-enactment of the Students Loan Bill 2024.
According to a letter addressed to the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, and dated March 14, Tinubu is seeking ‘expeditious consideration’ of the bill and the repeal of the existing law.
The latest development was at the heel of the public outburst that trailed the announcement of the temporary suspension of the commencement of the student loan system.
On Tuesday, March 12, The ICIR reported that the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFund), Akintunde Sawyer, said he cannot give a date for the rollout of the student education loan scheme, initially expected to be launched this Thursday, March 14.
Sawyer blamed the postponement on undisclosed issues.
However, Tinubu, in his letter to the senate explained that the request for repeal of the Students Loans Act 2023 and a fresh enactment is to address some challenges with the earlier Act and to enhance the implementation of the students loan scheme by his administration.
The letter reads in part: “ Pursuant to Section 58 (2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), I forward, herewith, the Student Loan (Access to Higher Education) (Repeal and Re-enactment) Bill, 2024 for the kind consideration of the Senate.
“The Student Loan (Access to Higher Education) (Repeal and Re-enactment) Bill, 2024 seeks to enhance the implementation of the Higher Education Student Loan Scheme by addressing challenges related to the management structure of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELF), applicant eligibility requirements, loan purpose, funding sources, and disbursement and repayment procedures.
“Whilst hoping that this submission will receive the usual expeditious consideration of the House of Representatives, please accept, Rt. Honourable Speaker, the assurances of my highest consideration.”
It could be recalled that Tinubu had in June 2023, signed the Access to Higher Education Bill (also known as student loan) to enable students in need to access interest-free loans to pursue their education in any tertiary institution in the country.
NELFund was set up to support students in public tertiary institutions from all the states of the Federation who wish to apply for a loan on the scheme. The objective was to cover the total cost of their institutional fees.
However, despite N50 billion budgetary allocations and pledges by the federal government there has been back-and-forth for the rollout of the scheme.
Usman Mustapha is a solution journalist with International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: [email protected]. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M