https://1stnews.com/reps-to-create-education-bank-for-student-loans/

At a time when countries like the United States of America (USA) is reconsidering its student loan scheme, the House of Reps on Thursday, October 3, passed a bill to create a Nigeria Education Bank to disburse loans to students for education.

The bill sponsored by Femi Gbajabiamila enables a bill for an act to provide easy access to higher education for Nigerians through interest-free loans from Nigeria Education Bank.

Speaking on the bill, Gbajabiamila noted that the bill if passed will provide interest-free loans to students.

However, the Deputy minority leader, Toby Okechukwu voiced his opposition stating that the bill is discriminatory by excluding “private higher institutions” from the loan scheme.

Student loan interestingly is at the forefront of the US presidential campaign.

Candidates such as Sen Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders are both in favour of cancelling student loans which stands at $1.6trillion.

The House of Reps also passed two other bills sponsored by Gbajabiamila, namely: ‘Bill to prohibit estimated billings bill’ and ‘Bill to allocate 20% of Federal jobs to physically challenged.’

Meanwhile, Gbajabiamila, on Wednesday inaugurated the 105 Standing Committees of House.

At the ceremony, Gbajabiamila said that the legislative committee system was as old as the legislature itself and that most of the work of the legislature were done through committees.

“What the judgment of the history will be for the 9th House of Representatives, whether for good or not, will depend largely on the conduct and the activities of the Committees we are inaugurating today,” he said.

The speaker said that in constituting the committees, the leadership of the Reps had taken time to ensure that members were assigned to committees that fit perfectly with their legislative interests and priorities.

Gbajabiamila further explained that prior experience and skills, as well as identified needs of the constituencies of the members, were also taken into consideration.

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“It is now left to you; chairmen and members, to go forward and show that you are capable of meeting the responsibilities to which you have been assigned and deserving of the mandate which you hold in trust for the Nigerian people.

“I charge you to be dutiful in the discharge of your constitutional responsibilities of oversight and law-making, taking every care to ensure that at all times your conduct is without reproach.

“Your service is motivated only by considerations of the best interests of our country; you know as well as I do, that our country for several years has been contending with serious challenges on multiple fronts.

“From the economy to national security, social justice to healthcare, infrastructure to the environment and climate change, this is a time that calls for determined efforts to achieve substantive reform.

“Ensure that our country can overcome its challenges and take advantage of the opportunities that abound for economic advancement and social development,” he said.

Since existing banks are already in charge of disbursing the current one, why create a new bank?

SHOPPERS:
Since existing banks are already in charge of disbursing the current one, why create a new bank?

Which of the existing banks ooo?