Hours after the federal government announced the indefinite suspension of the student loan scheme, President Bola Tinubu has sent a new bill to the National Assembly, asking that the lawmakers’ repeal the current Act, and pass the fresh bill.
Tinubu explained that the request for repeal of the Student Loans Act 2023 and a fresh enactment is to address some challenges with the earlier Act and to enhance the implementation of the student loan scheme by his administration.
The Speaker of the House of Representative, Tajudeen Abbas, disclosed this on Thursday while reading the letter sent to the house by the President, seeking their approval on the new development.
Abbas said that the action was necessary to ensure easy implementation of the scheme.
According to him, the existing Act was one of the first legislations signed by Mr Tinubu after his inauguration.
It would be recalled that the bill was sponsored by Femi Gbajabiamila, the chief of staff to the president, during his speakership.
However, the government has been struggling with the implementation of the scheme, and has postponed the takeoff of the scheme a couple of times.
In the letter, Mr Tinubu said the new bill seeks to address the “challenges related to the management structure of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELF), applicant eligibility requirements, loan purpose, funding sources and disbursement and repayment procedures.”
