In fulfilment of his campaign promise, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu today signed the Students Loan Bill into law.
Recall that the president had promised the large crowd of youths who thronged his campaign ground that if elected, he would ensure that indigent students have access to free interest loan to pursue their education.
The President’s media team led by Mr Dele Alake, a member of the Presidential Strategic Team, announced this to reporters in Abuja.
According to Alake, who was accompanied by other members of the media team, including Tunde Rahman and Abdulaziz Abdulaziz and the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, David Adejoh, the new law is a major plus for the development of education in the country.
Asked if the new law will not lead to a spike in school fees, Alake said the two situations are unrelated, adding that the idea behind the law is to help indigent students obtain education in the country.
“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.
“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,” he said.
The new law provides that the loan will be interest-free. Defaulters face a two year jail term or a N500,000 fine or both. Anyone facing defaulters faces same punishment.
