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President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday signed the National Students Loan Amendment bill into law as the new legislation repeals the previous Students Loans (Access to Higher Education) Act of 2023 and enacts the Student Loans (Access to Higher Education) Act 2004.

The President signed the bill in a short ceremony at the State House in the presence of the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, Deputy President of the Senate, Barau Jibrin, The Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, the Minister and Minister of State for Education, Hannatu Musawa, the Minister of State for Youth, Ayodele Olawande, the president of the National Association of Nigerian Students, other government officials and aides to the President.

Tinubu initially signed the student loan bill into law back in June 2023, to offer financial assistance to Nigerian students in tertiary institutions.

While the bill was signed earlier, its implementation has faced delays due to various issues hindering its rollout.

Speaking afterwards, the president said, “First of all, I must thank members of the National Assembly for their expeditious handling of this bill considering the children of Nigeria, that education is the tool to fight against poverty effectively.”

“We are determined to ensure that education is given the proper attention necessary for the country including skills development programmes. This is to ensure that no one, no matter how poor their background is, is excluded from quality education and opportunity to build their future.”

“We are here because we are all educated and were helped. In the past, we have seen a lot of our children drop out of college and give up the opportunity. That is no more, the standard and the control is there for you to apply no matter who you are as long as you are a Nigerian citizen.”

This development came after separate considerations from the two chambers of the National Assembly committees on tertiary institutions and TETFund.