President Bola Tinubu says the much-anticipated Student Loan Scheme and other programmes of his administration that should have begun are being fine-tuned.
“The Student Loan Programme will commence. There will be employment benefits for our graduates. The social security programme for the elderly and vulnerable will commence. We are fine-tuning all of that,” the President said on Monday at the flag off of the Agric Mechanisation Revolution for Food Security in Minna, the Niger State capital.
Last June, the President signed the Access to Higher Education Bill into law, granting impoverished students interest-free loans to run programmes at any Nigerian higher institution.
The initiative, which was supposed to start in September but was postponed until January 2024, has yet to begin, despite the government’s claim that it is fine-tuning the process.
The loan is available to all Nigerian students enrolled in the country’s higher education institutions, with a flexible repayment plan that begins two years after completing the necessary national youth service.
However, the President announced on Monday that the plan and others will begin while they are being finalised.
The President encouraged Nigerians to turn the country’s diverse issues into economic opportunities. “It’s time for Nigeria to accept the problem and turn it into an economic opportunity. “We must care for people and harness our agricultural population, including livestock farming,” he stated.
Tinubu also indicated his willingness to work with governors to alleviate hunger, while urging them to pay the present minimum wage till the salary award is reviewed upward.