FG Postpones Launch Of Student Loan Indefinitely

The Federal Government has indefinitely postponed the launch of the Nigerian Students Loan Scheme.

The Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, Akintunde Sawyer, disclosed this during an interview on Tuesday.

In June 2023, President Bola Tinubu signed a bill to start a Students Loan Fund that would give interest-free loans to Nigerians for higher education.

A former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, proposed the bill and it was supposed to commence between September and October 2023.

Meanwhile, Tinubu said the program would begin in January 2024, after missing the October deadline.

In January, Minister of State for Education, Yusuf Sununu, said at a meeting that preparations for the program were finished. This included making the Student Loan Scheme website and planning how to start the program.

Also, Tinubu told leaders of the National Association of Nigerian Students that the program would start once they added more features, like vocational studies.

However, barely 48 hours before the launch, Sawyer said the loan scheme was postponed due to some corrections that were being made around the launch.

“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 roll this out in a meaningful, comprehensive, wholesome, and sustainable way,” he said.