REACTIONS AS TINUBU APPOINTS JIM OVIA AS CHAIRMAN, NIGERIAN EDUCATION LOAN FUND (Download Act)

President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of renowned banker and businessman, Jim Ovia, as the Chairman, Board of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund.

The Students’ Loans (Access to Higher Education) Act, 2023, gained Presidential assent on 12th June 2023 and has since been making the rounds in the media and among Nigerians. The Act repeals the Nigerian Education Bank Act, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.

It provides the framework for equal access to interest-free loans for all students seeking to study in public institutions of higher learning in Nigeria, for the payment of tuition fees only.

The Act establishes the Nigerian Education Loan Fund which will be responsible for managing student loans, making rules and guidelines with respect to the loan application process, reviewing loan applications, approving and disbursing same, recovering all loans, among other functions.

The Act also states that The Fund will be administered by the Central Bank of Nigeria through Nigerian money deposit banks. The CBN Governor is responsible for setting up and chairing a Special Committee which will perform the functions of the Fund. The CBN Governor is also empowered to appoint a Secretary for the Committee. The Committee comprises several stakeholders from the education sector, the Finance Minister, Auditor General for the Federation and representatives from the  Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA).

STUDENT LOAN(ACCESS TO HIGHER EDUCATION) ACT, 2023

Ovia’s appointment is contained in a State House statement titled, ‘President Tinubu appoints Jim Ovia as Chairman of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund,’ and issued on Friday by the Special Adviser to the President, Media & Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale.

The statement noted that “Ovia is the founder of one of Nigeria’s leading banks and a respected business leader, with a surfeit of efforts and benefaction towards nurturing and empowering young Nigerians.

Jim James Ovia CFR CON is a 72 year-ild Nigerian businessman and author. He is known as the founder of Zenith Bank in 1990, which is now the country's most profitable bank. In 2018 Ovia published what he described as an "entrepreneurial manual", Africa Rise and Shine

“He is an alumnus of Harvard Business School and holds a Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Louisiana.”

Ovia is the founder of Visafone Communications Limited and the chairman of both the Nigerian Software Development Initiative (NSDI) and the National Information Technology Advisory Council (NITAC). He is a member of the Honorary International Investor Council as well as the Digital Bridge Institute (DBI). He is the Chairman of Cyberspace Network Limited. He was awarded an honorary doctorate degree in the 50th convocation ceremony of the University of Lagos.

The National Student Loan Programme is a pivotal intervention that seeks to guarantee sustainable higher education and functional skill development for all Nigerian students and youths.

The Nigerian Education Loan Fund, the implementing institution of this innovation, demands excellence and Nigerians of the finest professional ilk to guide and manage.

“The President believes Mr. Ovia will bring his immense wealth of experience and professional stature to this role to advance the all-important vision of ensuring that no Nigerian student suffers a capricious end to their pursuit of higher education over a lack of funds,” the statement partly read.

Ovia’s appointment will also ensure “that Nigerian youths, irrespective of who they are, have access to higher education and skills that will make them productive members of society and core contributors to the knowledge-based global economy of this century.”

Observers however opine that the appointment of Ovia goes against sections 5 and 7 of The Students’ Loans (Access to Higher Education) Act, 2023 which specifically puts the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) as the head of the fund. Subsections 3 and 4 refer to this.

Section 7 also establishes a committee to manage The Fund. The committee is also to be headed by the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria.

The Act states in part as follows regarding membership of The Fund.

The Act establishes the Nigerian Education Loan Fund which shall be domiciled with, managed, and administered by the Central Bank of Nigeria through the money deposit banks in Nigeria.

The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria is empowered to set up a Special Committee to perform the functions of the fund and establish regulations and guidelines for the management, administration, disbursement, and recoupment of student loans under the Act.

The Special Committee for the Fund shall be chaired by the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria who shall appoint the Secretary of the Fund.'

Other members of the Committee shall include the Minister for Education, Minister for Finance, Chairman of the National Universities Commission, Auditor-General for the Federation, representatives of Vice-Chancellors forum of all Nigerian Universities, Rectors forums of all Nigerian Polytechnics, Provost's forum of all Colleges of Education in Nigeria, the Nigerian Labour Congress, Nigerian Bar Association and Academic Staff Union of Universities.