The presidency has reaffirmed the commitment of Bola Tinubu’s administration to launch the Student Loan Scheme as soon as possible.
The presidential adviser, Bayo Onanuga, shared this information with journalists on Wednesday after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting in Abuja.
The Student Loan Scheme aims to provide interest-free loans to needy students pursuing education in Nigerian tertiary institutions.
Akintunde Sawyer, the executive secretary of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELF), recently stated that they are unable to provide a specific launch date as the federal government is still adjusting the student loan policy.
The initial plan to launch the program between September and October 2023 was unsuccessful, as was the rescheduled date of Thursday, March 14. However, Onanuga mentioned that final preparations are underway for a successful launch, and a new date will be announced soon.
“There will be a new date to launch the student loan scheme, it’s not forgotten. There are some things that need to be rearranged so that it can be launched properly. I think that’s what’s happening,” he said.
“So the president is committed to it, you know it is one of his flagship programmes and he wants to get it done as quickly as possible.”
The Information Minister, Mohammed Idris, also mentioned that the changes in dates were influenced by the new measures introduced by Tinubu regarding social security and consumer credit.
“So all these are being taken together and Mr. President is not stopping or suspending the students’ loan,” Idris said.
“Indeed, he’s ensuring that it comes about strongly so that Nigerians and especially the families of the less privileged, take advantage of that so that they can get education.”
