Former Speaker of the House of Representatives and President’s Chief of Staff-designate, Femi Gbajabiamila, has congratulated President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on signing the Student Loan (Access to Higher Education) Bill, 2019 into law.
Gbajabiamila stated that the new law had just guaranteed and strengthened the country’s future by ensuring that no Nigerian child would be denied access to tertiary education due to a lack of financial resources.
According to Gbajabiamila, the Bill’s sponsor, President Tinubu has demonstrated enough determination and empathy with Nigerians to deliver good governance, given the people-oriented and life-changing legislation he has signed into law in such a short period of time.
According to a statement signed by Lanre Lasisi, Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to Gbajabiamila, on Monday, the 9th Assembly Speaker stated that the hardships faced by the unemployed and low-income earners, combined with the extremely high cost of living in Nigeria over the years, have made access to quality higher education difficult, stressful, and in some cases, impossible.
He also stated that a well-educated citizenry is critical to national development and our country’s ability to compete in the global economy, arguing that higher education should be viewed as a public good benefiting the entire country rather than a commodity benefiting only the individual recipients.
The legislation provides for the establishment of the Nigerian Education Fund, domiciled with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) from which qualified applicants can access education loans through the commercial banks in the country.
Gbajabiamila noted that the assent to the Bill by the President was a testimony and an indication of a smooth legislature-executive relationship in his tenure as President.
When the actions of the President are viewed critically and without prejudice, it is reassuring that Nigerians are bound to enjoy good governance if the Legislature and the Executive will continue this symbiotic relationship that has brought massive change into governance within such a short period in the life of this administration.
While I congratulate Nigerians on this new feat, I will equally implore our indigent youths to maximize the advantage of the new law that will enable them to chart the future they crave for themselves, he added.
Gbajabiamila, however, noted that considering the patriotic steps and decisions made so far by the President, Nigerians should keep supporting and praying for the President in his strides to bring to bear good governance for the benefit of the greater majority of Nigerians.
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