Enhancing higher education accessibility in Nigeria, the Senate President of Nigeria, Godswill Akpabio, has disclosed that over 30,000 students nationwide, have been selected to benefit from the new student loan scheme.
Led by President Bola Tinubu, the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) is ensuring economically disadvantaged students get access to quality education.
During an address at the Nigeria Institute of Legislative and Democratic Studies in Abuja, Akpabio described the Student Loan Scheme as one of the most important pieces of legislation passed by the tenth Assembly.
He highlighted that the bill is designed to help underprivileged children pursue higher education without the burden of financial constraints.
“One of the most important bills for the tenth Assembly was the bill sent to us by President Bola Tinubu. The Student Loan Bill enables vulnerable Nigerian students, the less privileged, to obtain higher education. And as I speak to you now, over 30,000 Nigerian students have already been selected to benefit from that scheme. That is one of the bills I will say appeal to me the most,” Akpabio said.
In addition to discussing the student loan scheme, Akpabio spoke on Nigeria’s old national anthem, “Nigeria, We Hail Thee,” which was abolished in 1978. He pointed out that retaining the old anthem could have helped prevent issues such as banditry and insecurity.
“The other impactful bill signed by the National Assembly is the reverting to our old national anthem. A lot of people are not aware that there was a panel set up and made up of Nigerians to receive input from all over the world in 1959.
“So when people are saying we’re bringing in colonial anthem, they need to look into the history of ‘Nigeria, we hail thee.’ If we had kept to that anthem, we probably would not have banditry today in Nigeria because if you take your neighbour as your brother, you will not want to kill him,” Akpabio added.
The revised Student Loan Act 2024 aims to remove financial barriers and make education more accessible to all Nigerian students, regardless of their economic background.
Funded through an innovative amalgamation of government revenues, including taxes and natural resource profits, NELFUND is set to provide comprehensive financial support covering tuition, fees, and living expenses.
With a repayment grace period extending two years post-NYSC program completion, the scheme comes with a good approach to financial aid, ensuring that today’s scholars can become tomorrow’s leaders without the issue of debt.
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