ASUU President, Professor Emmanuel Osodeke, has spoken about the 50 billion
naira allocated by President Bola Tinubu’s administration
for a student loan program in the 2024 budget
In a video shared by Channels TV from 1:46:08, Osodeke said that while the government allocated 50 billion naira for a student loan program to support young people in getting an education, it also set aside a larger sum of 90 billion naira to subsidize the 2024 Hajj pilgrimage for citizens.
Osodeke said the 50 billion naira should be offered as a scholarship or grant for
underprivileged students instead of a loan. This, he argued
, would better support the education of young Nigerians and help keep them off the streets
In Osodeke’s exact words: “That same government that allocated 50 billion naira to funding the education of young boys and girls so that they can be off the street can give 90 billion naira to people going on Hajj. People going for private religious engagement you can give them 90 billion naira, but for the students the 50 billion naira you said you will give them they will pay back as loan. Does that sound fair? My suggestion is that convert that thing to scholarship or grant for the children of the poor, it should not be a loan”
