THE Federal Government of Nigeria, under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has postponed the launch of the Nigerian Students Loan Scheme indefinitely.
According to media reports, this information was disclosed by the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, Akintunde Sawyer, during an interview on Arise TV on Tuesday.
Recall that 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 start between September and October 2023.
Meanwhile, Tinubu said the programme would begin in January 2024, after missing the October deadline.
Also, in January, the Minister of State for Education, Yusuf Sununu, said at a meeting that preparations for the programme were finished. This included building the Student Loan Scheme website and planning how to start the programme.
However, although the launch was scheduled to be held today, Thursday, March 14, 2024, 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 actually roll this out in a meaningful, comprehensive, wholesome, and sustainable way,” he said.
