‘You Can’t Give What You Don’t Have’ – Reactions As Tinubu Govt Postpones Student Loan Scheme Launch Indefinitely

The suspension of the long-awaited student loan scheme introduced by the federal government has sparked various reactions from different quarters.

Naija News reports that the Bola Tinubu-led Federal Government has indefinitely postponed the launch of the Student Loan Scheme.

The Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), Akintunde Sawyer, made this known on Tuesday, March 12.

Sawyer said that the launch had been postponed because some fine-tuning was being done around the scheme launch itself.

However, in an interview on Arise News, the NELFUND boss did not give a new date for the scheme’s launch.

Recall that President Tinubu had, on June 12, 2023, signed into law the Access to Higher Education Act, 2023, marking a significant step forward in the provision of interest-free loans for underprivileged students in Nigerian tertiary institutions.

The scheme, which was to start last September and postponed to January 2024, was rescheduled for the commencement on March 1, 2024, but failed to kick off.

Following this development, some netizens took to social media to express their views regarding student loan suspension.

Below are the reactions.

@GEzeronye wrote: “How can the student loan plan go on when the Senators are sharing Nigeria’s money allegedly. N2.5 billion for Akpabio to buy freezers and generators for his constituents and another N500 million for senior senators. How can Nigeria even survive with this type of looting?”

@captaindee10 wrote: “Do they even know the population of students in Nigeria? The loan things was a scam,they had no plans for that..”

@PrinceofSydney wrote: “You can’t give what you don’t have. It will take a lot of work to establish a student loan scheme.

“Is there a student loan Act? Who can be classified as a student? How do you prove I am a student? How will you get the loans back? How many students do you have in Nigeria?”

@CollinsAEtim1 wrote: “Nigerians are not stupid. People saw the errors in the then ‘proposed’ student loan and voiced out. The job of Mr President and his team is to work towards a better form, not postponing it indefinitely…. And this is Nigeria, this indefinitely may mean close to 2027.”

@MKM_okey wrote: “The same FG not Tinubu student loan has equally being dashed. The same FG not Tinubu UAE Visa ban has been lifted at the end it becomes lies upon lies.

“FG not tinubu portharcourt refinery will start working by January 2024. FG not Buhari Nigeria airways is fully in operation.”

@OyelekeOlagboye wrote: “Don’t the mumu followers of APC, u will see the party is party of poverty it’s time for students loan they postponed till indefinite since common man will benefit! Welcome to Nigeria, where the rich are getting richer, and the poor are getting poorer.”

@bechiny wrote: “They padded 4trn in the budget for themselves but couldn’t give students just 15 billion loan? Nigerian politicians are the most wicked ppl on earth.”

@OraclesTweet wrote: “Renewed Shege: Student loan – postponed; Minimum wage increment – not approved; President 5billion yatch – bought; VP 15billion house renovation – approved. On your mandate, we shall stand.“