PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu is optimistic that the future of the Nigerian child would be brighter as the path to take them out of poverty has been cleared with the Students’ Loans Re-enactment Bill.
The President, who stated this when he hosted members of the APC Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) and the Independent Campaign Council (ICC) to Iftar in Abuja, noted: “The only thing that can fight poverty is education.
“Today, I signed the Bill for the Students’ Loan Scheme. Imagine the children of the poor; what about people going through the mud, fishing in the ponds?
“How do you tell their children that their future will be brighter? It is only through education that we can fight poverty. A promising future awaits our children.”
Tinubu also used the occasion to reassure Nigerians that the economy was being steered to the path of sustainable growth and broad-based prosperity for Nigerian families, adding: “The economy is looking much better. Yes, we have challenges with inflation, but we will bring it down.
“When the exchange rate was going haywire, it looked like we were asleep, but we worked on it diligently, and it is going down; it is getting better.
“Borrowing was higher a year ago, but today, we are re-engineering the financial landscape and our revenue is expanding. And we are taking up our sovereignty and earning our respect back in the comity of nations.”
He acknowledged the contributions of the members of the PCC and ICC toward his election in February 2023, adding: “It is your footwork and footprints that made me the President.
“I campaigned on hope, and you promised Nigerians hope and a good result when campaigning for me.
“There are a lot of expectations. I, therefore, have to work hard for it. There is a windy road we are traveling on. We have to navigate carefully. Otherwise, one ends up in the bush, and that is all I have been focused on.
“It is your effort, resourcefulness and dedication that has brought us here. The results will not come suddenly, you have endured the campaign, you must endure more, and I assure you that a very bright light beckons for you and your children.
“Nigeria will prosper and we will all reap the benefits. We will work with determination and persistence.”
He urged Nigerians to continue to have faith in Nigeria by supporting his administration to succeed for the benefit of all, saying: “Europe and America did not get to where they are today in one day, but through persistence and hardwork, which takes time and consistent focus.”
Vice President Kashim Shettima, Senate President Godswill Akpabio, Director General of the defunct PCC, Senator Simon Lalong, and the director general of the defunct ICC, in their various remarks, thanked the supporters for their perseverance.
They assured them that the President had not forgotten their invaluable efforts and he would not disappoint them.
What To Know About The Students Loans
THE Student Loans (Access to Higher Education) (Repeal and Re-enactment) Bill, 2024 seeks to guarantee sustainable higher education and functional skill development for all Nigerian students and youths.
Why previous Act was amended
The repealed Student Loan Act, 2023 had some challenges regarding governance and management, purpose of the loans, eligibility criteria for applicants, method of application, repayment provisions and recovery of the loans.
Amendments under the new Act
Student Loans (Access to Higher Education) (Repeal and Re-enactment) Act, 2024 sufficiently resolved the challenges highlighted above and includes the following amendments:
(a) Establishes the Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) as a body corporate that can sue and be sued in its name and has the power to acquire, hold, and dispose of movable and immovable property for the purpose of its functions.
This ensures that the Fund can legally enter contracts, including loan agreements, and may also initiate action to ensure repayment by beneficiaries.
(b) Empowers the Fund to provide loans to qualified Nigerians for tuition, fees, charges, and upkeep during their studies in approved tertiary academic institutions and vocational and skills acquisition institutions in Nigeria.
Build, operate and maintain a diversified pool of funds to provide loans to qualified applicants and ensure access to higher education, vocational training, and skills acquisition.
These amendments ensure that students can apply for and receive loans to cover tuition, institutional charges and some upkeep.
(c) Separates the governance functions from the management operations of NELFUND by establishing a board of directors with a chairman and a secretary.
The Board’s members are drawn from relevant ministries, regulatory bodies, and participating agencies, including the Federal Ministries of Finance and Education, the FIRS, NIMC, NUC, NBTE, and NCCE, as well as representatives of universities, polytechnics, colleges of education, students of tertiary institutions and the organised private sector.
Establishes a management team, led by a managing director, including executive directors responsible for the day-to-day management and operations of the Fund.
The President appoints the Board and Management.
(d) Properly defines the resource structure of the Fund, by, among others, establishing the General Reserve Fund into which shall be paid one per cent of all taxes, levies and duties collected by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and accruing to the benefit of the Federal Government, and;
From which the Fund shall pay amounts payable as loans to qualified applicants for tuition, fees, charges, and upkeep, as well as the Fund’s operational expenses and such expenditures necessary to attaining the Fund’s objectives and functions.
(e) Changes to eligibility criteria for applicants.
Removes the family income threshold so Nigerian students can apply for these loans and accept responsibility for repayment, according to the Fund’s guidelines.
Removes the guarantor requirement, so that students can apply for and receive loans subject to application and identity verification guidelines as provided by the Fund.
Student applicants can no longer be disqualified based on their parent’s loan history.
(f) Establishes a justice and fairness provision mandating the Board to ensure a minimum national spread of loans approved and disbursed in each financial year.
(g) Applicants to the Fund may apply for loans to cover tuition and other fees payable to the school and maintenance allowance payable to the student.
(h) Repayment of loans by beneficiaries.
The Fund shall not initiate loan recovery efforts until two years after the completion of the national youth service programme.
A beneficiary may request an extension of enforcement action by the Fund by providing a sworn affidavit indicating that he/she is not employed in any capacity and is not receiving any income.
Only a person who provides a false statement to the Fund under this section is guilty of a felony and is liable to imprisonment for three years.
Makes provision for loan forgiveness in the event of death or acts of God causing inability to repay.
The Act effectively removes the previous encumbrances found in the first iteration of the Act and paves the path for the protection of Nigeria’s future by ensuring that citizens have the means to fund their education, acquire critical skills and become productive contributors to national development.
