The Federal Government has postponed the launch of the Nigerian Students Loan Scheme indefinitely.
Akintunde Sawyer, the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), stated this in an interview with ARISE NEWS.
The loan, which was formally slated to take off on Thursday, has been postponed again as there are some corrections that are being made around the launch, according to Sawyer.
“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.”
President Bola Tinubu signed the bill into law in June 2023 to establish a Students Loan Fund (SLF) to provide interest-free loans to Nigerians seeking higher education.
The bill, sponsored by Femi Gbajabiamila, the former Speaker of the House of Representatives, was initially planned to kick off between September and October 2023.
President Tinubu announced the scheme would begin in January 2024 after his government failed to meet the October deadline last year.
In January, Yusuf Sununu, Minister of State for Education, confirmed at the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, while speaking to reporters, that preparations were completed for the scheme to begin, including the finalization of the Student Loan Scheme website and the conclusion of technical plans to facilitate the scheme’s kick-off.
President Tinubu assured the leaders of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) when they visited him at the State House, Abuja, that the scheme would begin once its expansion to accommodate extra features, including vocational studies, was done.