A student loan bill that provides financial assistance to less fortunate students pursuing higher education has been enacted by Nigeria's new president, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and is a first of its type in the nation.
The Nigerian Education Loan Fund will now make it simple for local colleges, universities, and polytechnics students to obtain loans with no interest to pay for education.
The Nigerian parliament approved the measure in November that would have created a national education bank that would lend money to students.
But before leaving office on May 29, former President Muhammadu Buhari refused to sign the legislation. He made no attempt to explain.
The new legislation is a fulfillment of Tinubu's election pledge, according to Dele Alake, a member of the Presidential Strategic Team and head of the president's media team.
He dispelled worries that the law would induce an increase in tuition by arguing that the two circumstances are unconnected. According to him, the goal of the bill is to make it easier for children who are in need to attend school in the nation.
"This is the promise made during the presidential campaign by the then candidate, that he will bring back the student loan issue to the front burner and today, that promise has been kept," the official stated.
The initiative, according to Sunday Asefon, the immediate former president of the National Association of Nigeria Students (NANS), will provide possibilities for students who are orphaned and destitute.
He claimed that the measure gives these individuals the chance to get loans and pursue their educational goals.
Asefon outlined that recent events demonstrate Nigeria's intention to preserve parity with other nations that have adopted the program.
"We saw it in his manifesto. But we didn't expect it was going to be this quick. The President has not spent a month in office, and he has put a smile on the faces of Nigerian students. The students, their parents and student leaderships are appreciative of the action. This bill will go a long way," the official noted.
When Tinubu was speaker of the House of Representatives in 2016, his chief of staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, presented the legislation.
No Nigerian child "will be denied access to tertiary education on account of lack of financial resources," he now asserts, outlining that the "future of the country" is secured.
After completing their courses and the required national service, loan recipients are required to begin repayment as soon as they get a job.
Before this, banks in Nigeria were only permitted to offer highly strict terms on student loans to the parents of the students. Some students have had to quit school or take up odd jobs to pay for their education.