Godswill Akpabio, President of the Senate, has revealed that more than 30,000 Nigerian students have been selected as beneficiaries of the student loan scheme.
The lawmaker, on Tuesday, made this known during a visit to the Nigeria Institute of Legislative and Democratic Studies in Abuja.
The loan introduced by President Bola covers tuition, fees, and maintenance costs, and repayment begins two years after beneficiaries have completed the mandatory National Youth Service Corps program.
“And as I speak to you now, over 30,000 Nigerian students have already been selected to benefit from that scheme,” Akpabio said.
He described the student loan bill as one of the most appealing bills to him the most, saying it gives poor Nigerian students, the less privileged, access to higher education.
The senate president further added incessant banditry in the country might have been prevented if the country had retained the old national anthem, “Nigeria, We Hail Thee”, if not abolished in 1978.
Akpabio said the bill to go back to the old national anthem was one of the most relevant bills signed by the National Assembly.
“A lot of people are not aware that there was a panel set up and made up of Nigerians to receive input from all over the world in 1959.
“So when people are saying we’re bringing in the colonial anthem, they need to look into the history of “Nigeria, we hail thee.
“If we had kept to that anthem, we probably would not have banditry today in Nigeria because if you take your neighbour as your brother, you will not want to kill him,” he stated.
