President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led Federal Government has announced the postponement of the Nigerian Students Loan Scheme indefinitely.
Akintunde Sawyer, the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), stated this in an interview with ARISE NEWS, which was monitored by BusinessDay.
According to Sawyer, the loan, which was to be launched on Thursday, has been postponed again, as some corrections are being made before the take-off.
“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.”
The Informant247 reports that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu signed the bill into law in June 2023 to establish a Students Loan Fund (SLF) to provide interest-free loans to Nigerians seeking higher education.
The bill, sponsored by the then Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, was initially planned to kickstart between September and October 2023.
President Tinubu announced the scheme would begin by January 2024 after his Government failed to meet the October deadline last year.
In January, Yusuf Sununu, Minister of State for Education, confirmed at the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, while speaking to reporters, that preparations were completed for the scheme to begin, including the finalisation of the Student Loan Scheme website and the conclusion of technical plans to facilitate the scheme’s kick-off.