President Bola Tinubu has signed the Student Loan Bill into law.
Tinubu signed the bill into law at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Monday, June 12, 2023.
The bill will enable students across the country to access loans at interest-free rates.
The Student Loan Bill, which passed second reading at the House of Representatives on May 25, 2023, was sponsored by the immediate past Speaker of the House, Femi Gbajabiamila, who is now the Chief of Staff to the President.
Speaking after the signing, a presidential spokesman, Dele Alake, said the bill would boost the educational pursuit of the youths across the country, adding that to enjoy the facility, students must show evidence of being indigent.
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He said a committee drawn from all the relevant education stakeholders would be set up to handle the process of an efficient disbursement of the loans.
Alake stated that a percentage of the revenue of the federation would be used to finance the new initiative.
The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education, Andrew Adejo, said the bill would rest the case of lack of funds hindering indigents’ educational pursuit.
He said the signing of the Student Loan Bill signified how Tinubu’s administration intended to handle the issue of qualitative and quantitative education in its period.
Adejo added that the ministry already had experience in students financial dealings through the student scholarship boards scheme, saying the country’s handling of loans recovery in various projects would also come handy in the recouping of loans.
He stated that the interest-free loan would be disbursed based on the students’ number of years of study and ability to pay back.
The permanent secretary added that the states should march the financial and technical support of the Federal Government in order to give Nigerians good education.
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