A mammoth 40 million students have already benefited from FG's education loan scheme, Omotayo, Tinubu's aide, boasts

No fewer than 40 million Nigerian students have so far benefited from the federal government’s student loan initiative aimed at boosting the standard of education in Nigeria.

Personal Assistant to President Ahmed Bola Tinubu on Constituency Affairs, Khadijat Kareem Omotayo, disclosed this on Sunday – today, February 9 – at a Town Hall meeting in Jos, with Plateau State stakeholders.

According to Omotayo, the president brought the idea of student loans to enable those with financial constraints to have access to education, and called on those who are yet to apply for the loan to do so in order to complete their education as the loan has no collateral.

Describing President Tinubu as a leader who is clamoring to build Nigeria that works for all citizens, irrespective of partisan leanings, Omotayo implored Nigerians to stop attacking the president over the removal of subsidy on petroleum products, insisting subsidy removal was effected in their own in their best interest.

She further challenged Nigerians at all levels to start questioning their elected representatives over the hardship being experienced in the country rather than continue casting aspersions on, and blaming the president for everything.

“The president is committed to the growth and development of Plateau, the initiative that would improve the well-being of the people through access to quality healthcare, education as well as women and youths empowerment,” Omotayo assured, promising that the president would finish all abandoned federal government’s projects in Plateau.

Stressing the need for unity and support for all federal government initiatives, particularly in relation to youth development, Tinubu’s aide said the town hall meeting was designed as a platform for acknowledging contributions and fostering relationships among stakeholders in the region.

Governor Caleb Mutfwang, represented by the Commissioner for Youth and Sports Development, Ibrahim Musa Ashoms, disclosed the state government has embarked on many youth oriented programmes, including for internally displaced persons.

These include the cultivation of 1,000 hectares of land, where many youths are actively engaged in agriculture.

“That is to say, we also cultivated 5,000 hectares for our internally displaced persons, so that they will return to their ancestral homes,” he stressed.

Ashoms said already, the Plateau State government has had an interface with the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAC) in the government’s bid to convert Yakubu Gowon Airport into a cargo Airport.

He appealed to the federal government to hasten work on the Akwanga, Forest, Jos, Bauchi, and Gombe roads respectively since it had secured the $1.2 billion loan from the Chinese Bank meant for the project.

National first Vice President, Plateau Initiative for Development of the Natives (PIDAN) Gyang Dudu, in his contribution, said there are quite a lot of communities in Plateau State without federal government presence, adding that the plight of the people is further worsened by insecurity.

Many Plateau stakeholders attended the meeting, the Plateau Initiative for Development and Advancement of the Natives (PIDAN), Traditional rulers, Inter Party Advisory Council (IPAC), Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), National Union of Road Transportation Workers (NURTW), Women in Agriculture, Plateau Youth Council (PYC), South-South Community, South-East community, Yoruba community amongst others.

Some of the speakers drew the federal government’s attention to the fact that often, the constituency projects sited at various constituencies do not reflect the wishes and aspirations of the people, pleading that their wishes be sought when such project’s are being conceived

The stakeholders tasked the government to always conduct need assessments in consultation with all stakeholders, including traditional rulers and community leaders, to prioritise the people’s needs.