President Bola Tinubu on Monday signed the Students Loan Bill into law in fulfillment of one of his campaign promises to liberalize funding of education in the country.
However, the law recommends two years imprisonment or N500,000 or both for students who default in repayment or anyone found aiding defaulters.
The Bill titled, “A Bill for an Act to Provide for easy access to higher education for Nigerians through an interest-free loan from the Nigerian Education Bank established in this Act to provide education for Nigerians and other purposes connected thereto,” was sponsored by the Speaker of House of Representatives, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila.
Presidential aide, Dele Alake told State House correspondents after the signing that this was the promise made during the presidential campaign by the then candidate that he would bring back the student loans issue to the front burner, adding that the president has kept his promise.
Alake, who was joined by other close aides of the president, including Tunde Rahman, Abdulaziz Abdulaziz as well as the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, David Adejoh said: “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 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.”
Alake said the law would take immediate effect but a committee that would be set up would superintend over the procedures.