The President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led administration, on Tuesday, announced the indefinite postponement of the launch of the Nigerian Students Loan Scheme indefinitely.
The loan scheme was formally billed to take off on Thursday before the latest postponement.
The Federal Government disclosed that the development was necessitated by the need to fine-tune and put finishing touches to the modalities of the scheme.
Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), Akintunde Sawyer, who made the disclosure in an interview with Arise News, stated that the loan scheme was indefinitely postponed because of some corrections that are being made around the launch.
According to him, they wanted every stakeholder to be on the same page in order to avoid claims of being sidelined.
“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.” he said.
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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 begin between September and October 2023.
President Tinubu announced the scheme would begin by 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 briefing to newsmen, that preparations were completed for the scheme to begin, including the finalisation of the Student Loan Scheme website and the conclusion of technical plans to facilitate the scheme’s kick-off.
