By Gloria Ume-Ezeoke, Channels TV
President Bola Tinubu has signed into law the Student Loan Bill in fulfillment of a promise he made during his campaign.
This was announced on Monday by the spokesperson to the Federal Government Mr. Dele Alake, saying that the funds will be domiciled in the Ministry of Education and will only be accessed by indigent students of tertiary institutions.
The student loan bill sponsored by the Speaker of the 9th House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, which provides for interest-free loans to indigent Nigerian students, passed the third reading at the House, two weeks ago.
The law is to provide easy access to higher education for indigent Nigerians through interest-free loans from the Nigerian Education Loan Fund.
“We are very happy to announce to you that today, just a few minutes ago, the President His Excellency, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, signed into law, the Student Loans Bill and that Student Loans Bill. You all know what it entails, what it connotes the meaning,” he said.
“This is the promise made during the presidential campaign by the then-candidate, His Excellency, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, that he will bring back the student loans issue to the front burner and today, that promise he made has been kept.
“He has just signed that bill into law, which henceforth, will allow or enable our indigent students to access federal government loans to fund their educational pursuit or career and this is how it’s done in other developed climes all over the world.”
The Act provides that the Nigerian Education Bank shall have powers to supervise, coordinate, administer, and monitor the management of student loans in Nigeria.
It also recommends two years imprisonment or N500,000 or both for students who default in repayment or anyone found aiding defaulters.
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