President Bola Tinubu has signed the student loan bill into law.
This was announced on Monday by the spokesperson to the Federal Government, Dele Alake, who added that the funds will be domiciled in the Ministry of Education and will only be accessed by indigent students of tertiary institutions.
The legislation, which seeks to provide financial assistance to Nigerian students in tertiary institutions, passed the third reading in the lower chamber in May.
The bill was sponsored by Femi Gbajabiamila, immediate-past speaker of the house of representatives.
The legislation provide easy access to higher education for indigent Nigerians through interest-free loans from the Nigerian Education Loan Fund.
The legislation will also for the establishment of the Nigerian education bank, which will have the power to administer, supervise, coordinate, and monitor the management of student loans in the country.
Commenting on the bill, Alake told journalists that the new law is a fulfilment of one of the electoral promises of President Tinubu to liberalise funding of education in the country.
Alake said the idea behind the law is to help indigent students to be able to obtain education in the country.
