Gov. Usman Ododo of Kogi, has commended President Bola Tinubu for assenting to the Nigeria Student Loan Act, which establishes the Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NELFUND).

Tinubu, on Wednesday, signed the Student Loans (Access to Higher Education) Act (Repeal and Re-Enactment) Bill, 2024, into law.

This comes after separate considerations by both the Senate and the House of Representatives of the report of the Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TETFund.

Ododo described the signing as a “huge relief” for parents and students.

Ododo noted that the Act will improve the quality of education and increase access to education for millions of Nigerian youth population and children from disadvantaged social and economic background in the country.

“I’m so delighted that President Tinubu is placing premium on the provision of quality education to Nigerians at this critical time.

“Indeed, education is a veritable tool for empowering the people and an enabler for more Nigerians to ascend the socio-economic ladder irrespective of their social and economic backgrounds.

“Therefore, by assenting to the Student Loan Act, President Tinubu has further demonstrated uncommon determination to transform the education sector in Nigeria.

“This will go a long way in providing the impetus for the acquisition of skills required to meet Nigeria’s manpower needs in response to emerging realities of the development agenda of the country,”he said.

He said that the Student Loan Act and its provisions were clear evidence that education is critical to the attainment of the Renewed Hope Agenda of the President.

He also assured residents of his administration’s commitment to enhance access to quality education by expanding the scale of educational infrastructure and providing needed resources to skill up the youth population in the state. (NAN)