The launch of the Nigerian Student Loan Scheme, led by Bola Tinubu’s government, has been postponed indefinitely, just 48 hours before it was supposed to begin.
Akintunde Sawyer, the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), announced this during an interview with AriseTV on Tuesday.
The loan program, originally scheduled to start on Thursday, has been delayed due to some necessary adjustments that need to be made before the launch, as explained by Sawyer.
“Unfortunately, I won’t be able to commit to a specific date. We are sort of waiting to ensure that all the stakeholders are aligned to make sure that nobody is blindsided, then we can actually roll this out in a meaningful, comprehensive, wholesome and sustainable way.”
President Tinubu signed a bill in June 2023 to establish a Students Loan Fund (SLF) that will provide interest-free loans to Nigerians for higher education.
The bill was proposed by former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, and was initially planned to begin between September and October 2023.
However, President Tinubu announced that the program would actually start in January 2024, as they missed the October deadline.
During the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting in January, Minister of State for Education, Yusuf Sununu, confirmed that preparations for the Student Loan Scheme were finished. This included finalizing the website and technical plans to start the scheme.
President Tinubu promised the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) that the scheme would start once it was expanded to include vocational studies. This assurance was given during their visit to the State House.
