Tinubu appends signature to his first piece of legislation signing Nigerian Student Loan Bill unto law

PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has signed the Nigerian Student Loan Bill which offers interest-free loans for educational purposes and proposes a punishment of N50,000 or a two year prison sentence for defaulters  into law.

Presidential spokesman Dele Alake, revealed that the president appended his signature to the bill today,  thus enabling Nigerian students to access loans at interest-free rates. However, the Students Loan Bill also recommends two years imprisonment or N500,000 or both for students who default in repayment or anyone found aiding defaulters.

This piece of legislation passed its second reading at the House of Representatives on May 25, just before the ninth assembly wound up its activities. Sponsored by speaker Hon Femi Gbajabiamila, it was titled A bill to provide for easy access to higher education for Nigerians through an interest-free loan from the Nigerian Education Bank.

In November 2022, Hon Gbajabiamila urged the Education Bank to provide interest-free loans to students in tertiary institutions in order to make funding education at that level more accessible to all. He added that as a lawmaker and politician, one of the most common requests he always heard was money for tertiary education, adding that it was necessary as the future of talented kids could be jeopardised if the matter is not addressed.