The Federal Government, FG, has postponed the implementation of the Nigerian Students Loan Scheme indefinitely.

Akintunde Sawyer, the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, confirmed this in a TV interview with on Tuesday, 12th March, 2024.

The loan, which was originally scheduled to start on Thursday, 14th March, 2024, has been postponed once more.

Sawyer explained that the delay is due to some launch-related corrections.

Unfortunately, I won’t be able to commit to a specific date. We are sort of waiting to ensure that all the stakeholders are aligned to make sure that nobody is blindsided, then we can actually roll this out in a meaningful, comprehensive, wholesome, and sustainable way.

Akintunde Sawyer, the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund

President Bola Tinubu signed a bill in June 2023 to establish a Students Loan Fund, which would provide Nigerians with interest-free loans for higher education.

The bill, sponsored by Femi Gbajabiamila, the former Speaker of the House of Representatives, was originally scheduled to take effect between September and October 2023.

He had earlier announced that the scheme would commence in January 2024, after his government failed to meet the October deadline in the previous year, 2023.

Yusuf Sununu, Minister of State for Education, announced at a meeting in January 2924 that the program’s preparations were complete. This included developing the Student Loan Scheme website and preparing for the program’s launch.

President Tinubu during a visit to the State House in Abuja also reassured the leaders of the National Association of Nigerian Students, NANS, that the program would begin once it had been expanded to include additional features, such as vocational studies.