The President of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Umar Barambu, has expressed the association’s desire to have past national leaders included in the committee while excluding lecturers and lawyers. Barambu made this statement during a meeting with President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa. It should be noted that Tinubu recently signed the Students Loan Bill into law, fulfilling his promise to enhance education funding in the country.
The NANS president believes that the new Act will significantly improve the circumstances of Nigerian students, providing them with greater opportunities to pursue their studies with fewer challenges. However, Barambu highlighted certain clauses in the Act that they find uncomfortable. One particular concern revolves around the composition of the board. The association suggests that student representatives should be included, while certain organizations, such as the Nigerian Bar Association and ASUU, should be excluded. According to Barambu, these organizations have their own microfinance banks and should not be part of the student-oriented board.
The Act states that the committee will consist of various members, including the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria as the Chairman, the Secretary of the Fund appointed by the Chairman, the minister responsible for education, the Chairman of the National Universities Commission, representatives from Vice-Chancellors forum, Rectors forums, and Provosts’ Forum of Nigerian universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education, respectively. Additionally, the committee includes the minister responsible for finance or their representative and the Auditor-General for the Federation. Furthermore, representatives from the Nigeria Labour Congress, Nigerian Bar Association, and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) are also part of the committee.