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Don’t make student loans debt-trap, Governor tells FG
The Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke on Tuesday, called on the Federal Government and other stakeholders to ensure that the Nigeria Education Loans Fund does not become a death trap for the beneficiaries.
Adeleke made this call in Osogbo while receiving the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian Education Loan Fund, Akintunde Sawyer and his team, who paid him a courtesy call in his office at the state government secretariat.
Adeleke said the country must understudy other nations operating similar funds, adding that Nigeria must devise a measure that would prevent the initiative from becoming a debt trap.
He commended President Bola Tinubu for creating the fund as a response to challenges facing the student population, noting that the President had demonstrated political will by fast-tracking not only the establishment of the Fund but its effective takeoff.
Assuring the management of the Fund of Osun’s support, Adeleke further said “For us as a state, we have a responsibility to productively partner with the Federal Government for the benefit of our people. When it comes to bringing dividends of democracy to our people, we are blind to partisan politics. Our focus is the improvement of the lives of our people irrespective of where it is coming from.
“As a government, we see the Fund as a veritable platform to provide a lifeline for many indigent students in our various schools. The initiative promises to remove the pain and hardship experienced by many brilliant students. Again, we are elated by the prospects and opportunities for our students, hence our launching into the programme with all machinery of government.
“We are glad our efforts paid off with the enrolment of many Osun schools in the programme. It is gratifying to hear that Osun took the lead among comity of states in the selection and compliance process. Our next plan is to follow up by further deepening the preparedness of the selected schools for accessing opportunities available within the fund.”
On the ways to avoid challenges associated with the Funds in the countries already operating it, the governor said, “I must however call our attention to a lesson we must learn as a nation from the operation of the loans board. As a long-term resident of the United States, I am aware of the challenge of student loan debt. It has become a crisis of sorts. It has also become a subject of hot political debate. It has to do with huge student loan debt in the US
“We must as a nation avoid a similar debt trap. As we have the grace to understudy other nations operating similar funds, we must avoid the pitfalls. Our new system must integrate mechanisms to prevent similar experiences like what is happening in the US.
“I task the management of NELFUND to innovate within its mandate on how to make its operations sustainable. Debt trap must never be experienced in Nigeria’s students’ loan operations.”
Naijablitznews.com recalled that upon assumption of office, the Minister pledged to reform Nigeria’s livestock industry to enhance food security, create a safe environment for all stakeholders, and attract foreign investment.
He disclosed a vision for the newly established ministry to include comprehensive reforms aimed at “unbundling” the sector, strengthening infrastructure, and meeting Nigeria’s growing demand for animal protein.
Akwa Ibom State governor, Pastor Umo Eno, presented a proposed total budget outlay of N955 billion for the 2025 fiscal year to the State House of Assembly for consideration on Tuesday.
This was against the revised provision of N923.46 billion in the 2024 budget.
The 2025 financial appropriation estimate comprised recurrent expenditures of N300 billion and capital expenditures of N655 billion.
Eno said that the total capital receipts and expenditure for the year 2025 is estimated at N655 billion as against the proposed revised provision of N573.32 billion for 2024.
He said that the 2025 Budget, which is christened “Budget for Consolidation and Expansion,” is predicated on an oil benchmark of $75 per barrel at a production rate of 2.12 million barrels per day with an estimated exchange rate of N1,400/US$.
The Governor added that the 2025 oil benchmark and exchange rate is in line with the National Budget benchmark projections.
He said that the total projected recurrent revenue for 2025 is estimated at ₦830 billion as against the proposed revised provision of B803.70 billion, representing a 3 per cent increase in revenue projection for the year 2025.
The governor said the policy thrust objectives of the 2025 budget would be to achieve food security through investing heavily in the agricultural revolution.
Other objectives included rural development through robust investments in modern living facilities such as all seasonal roads, rural electrification and others within rural communities to ultimately improve the quality of life for those in the rural areas and help stem rural-urban migration. Ensuring that public schools in the state are equipped and staffed by teachers who are passionate and dedicated.
He said to realise the year 2025 budget objectives, the state shall adopt and improve the effectiveness of budget performance by ensuring fiscal discipline through the implementation of only programmes that were captured in the budget, among other strategies.
In his remarks, Speaker of the Assembly, Udeme Otong, assured the governor that the lawmakers would quicken the consideration process to ensure speedy passage of the 2025 budget estimate to fasten development in the state.
Otong urged all heads of Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) in the state to cooperate with the House of Assembly during the budget defence to ensure speedy passage of the budget.
The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof Muhammad Pate said the annual loss to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product from malaria exceeds $1.1bn.
Prof Pate said this in Abuja at the inaugural meeting of the Advisory Body on Malaria Elimination in Nigeria.
A statement by the Deputy Director of Information & Public Relations at the ministry, Alaba Balogun, on Tuesday, stated that Pate described malaria as not just a health crisis, but an economic and developmental emergency that must be eliminated.
Pate said the launch of the advisory body was a bold and decisive step to confront and address the disease.
He said, “Malaria continues to exert an unacceptable toll on Nigeria. With 27 per cent of global malaria cases and 31 per cent of global malaria deaths, our country bears the heaviest burden of this disease. In 2022, over 180,000 Nigerian children under the age of five lost their lives to malaria – a tragedy we have the tools to prevent.
“This is not just a health crisis; it is an economic and developmental emergency. Malaria reduces productivity, increases out-of-pocket health expenditures and, compounds the challenges of poverty. The annual loss to Nigeria’s GDP from malaria exceeds $1.1bn, a stark reminder of the economic imperative of elimination.”
The minister said malaria elimination was a critical component of the Nigeria Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative framework for transforming the health sector, in alignment with the Renewed Hope Agenda of the present administration.
He also highlighted the importance of traditional and religious leaders to drive grassroots support and influence behavioural change.
The Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Iziaq Salako, affirmed the advisory body as a group of experts who will provide evidence based advisory to help the country to reduce its unacceptable malaria burden, and set up realistic paths to a malaria-free Nigeria.
“For us to succeed, the private sector, the international partners, the healthcare workers and, the communities we serve must be harnessed and coordinated,” Salako added.
The advisory body is made up of globally renowned experts under the leadership of Prof Rose Leke.
The experts are charged with refocusing on advancing evidence-based solutions that address current challenges, ensuring that malaria elimination is prioritised in the budgets and plans of all levels of government and, creating frameworks for accountability that ensure sustained progress.
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