Agbedi, Kalu Clash Over Proposed Tuition Fee Waiver

The Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Fred Agbedi, clashed with Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu on Thursday over a proposed one-year tuition fee waiver for students in federal tertiary institutions.

The disagreement arose after Kalu invited the House Leader, Prof Julius Ihonvbere, to address lawmakers on the proposal, despite its sponsor, Ahmed Satomi, having stepped down the motion for further consultation.

Agbedi faulted the decision, arguing that the House could not deliberate on a motion that was no longer before it. He cited Order 8, Statute 1, which governs the arrangement of business in the chamber.

“We have passed personal explanation, we have passed orders of the day, and Mr Speaker, you stepped down a motion that was brought by Honourable Satomi, and then, you called on the Leader of the House to intervene on a matter that is not within the order,” he said.

The minority leader also questioned the need for the proposed waiver, arguing that the Nigerian Education Loan Fund Act already provided a framework for financing students’ education.

He warned that a proposal requiring the Federal Government to pay tuition fees for all Nigerians could conflict with the existing law, which President Bola Tinubu had assented to.

Agbedi further described Kalu’s decision to invite Ihonvbere to speak on the matter as a breach of parliamentary procedure.

“For you to beckon on the leader of the House to discuss this matter that was not before the House was an aberration. It has no place in our rulebook, Mr Speaker,” he said.

Kalu rejected the objection and ruled Agbedi out of order, repeating, “You are ruled out of order. You are ruled out of order.”

Earlier, Satomi, an All Progressives Congress member representing Borno State, said he had consulted Ihonvbere, who addressed some concerns about the proposed waiver, before deciding to step down the motion.

Kalu subsequently invited the House Leader to brief lawmakers on the performance of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) since it began operations.

Ihonvbere disclosed that NELFUND had disbursed ₦372.6 billion to students and tertiary institutions as of September 29, 2026.

He said ₦192.9bn had gone directly to tertiary institutions to cover tuition fees, while N79.7bn had been paid to students as monthly upkeep allowances.

According to him, the fund had received more than 2.3 million applications, with 319 institutions covered under the scheme and approximately 1.66 million students benefiting.

He urged lawmakers to sensitise their constituents to the scheme and encourage eligible students to apply. He added that applications could be completed online without personal connections or visits to government offices.

Satomi had proposed the one-year emergency tuition fee waiver in response to rising living costs following the Federal Government’s economic reforms, including the removal of the petrol subsidy.

He argued that rising food, transport, accommodation and electricity costs had made it increasingly difficult for parents and guardians to finance their children’s education.

The lawmaker warned that students in universities, polytechnics and colleges of education risked dropping out or deferring their studies because their families could no longer afford tuition fees and other compulsory charges.

He also cautioned that financial barriers to education could worsen youth unemployment, inequality and social instability.

Describing education as essential to national development, poverty reduction and social mobility, Satomi urged the Federal Government to introduce temporary relief for eligible students in federal universities, polytechnics, colleges of education and other federal tertiary institutions.

The proposal also called on federal and state governments to ensure that any relief programme was time-bound, regularly reviewed and adequately funded without undermining the quality, accessibility or sustainability of tertiary education.

The House ultimately stepped down the motion for further consultation.