Dr Akintunde Sawyer, the executive secretary of Nigeria Education Loan Scheme (NELFund), has called on Nigerians not to politicise the student loan scheme because of its immense advantages.
Sawyer made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Abuja.
NAN recalls that President Bola Tinubu signed the Students Loan Bill passed by the National Assembly into law on June 12, 2023, to help indigent youths to access tertiary education with ease.
The scheme was slated to commence between September and October 2023, but because of unforeseen circumstances, there was a revised timeline to January and now to March 2024.
The Executive Secretary said the scheme was designed for future leaders and all hands must be on deck to ensure its successful take-off.
“I want to implore Nigerians to support this programme however imperfect it might seem, because we will not get to perfection unless we start with something.
“I want to implore Nigerians to avoid politicising an issue that is so important to assist the youths.
“I am saying this because whenever there is a policy drive or something that impacts many people there will be some perceived losers.
“ You can’t please everybody and this is not just a Nigerian phenomenon. This happens all over the world.
“I am essentially saying that there are bound to be people who are not happy for one reason or the other,’’ he said.
Sawyer appealed to Nigerians to support the scheme and make it work because of the enormous impact of the scheme.
It will be recalled that the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) dismissed the Students Loan Act shortly after it was signed by the President.
ASUU’s National President, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, had said that “with over one million students in Nigerian public universities, the loan scheme falls short of providing adequate tuition coverage’’.
Osodeke had also said that the conditions for the loan were “not practicable”, adding that more than 90 per cent of students won’t meet the “stringent requirements’’ to access and repay the loan.
