Student Loan To Commence In January, Says President Tinubu

President Bola Tinubu has said that his proposed student loan is set commence in January 2024.

The President stated this during the presentation of the 2024 Appropriation Bill before a joint session of the National Assembly in Abuja today, Wednesday.

According to him, the 2024 budget tagged Budget of Renewed Hope will achieve job-rich economic growth.

He said it will address long-standing issues in the education sector with the student loan to begin in January.

Tinubu began the presentation of the N27.5 trillion Appropriation Bill at 11. 40 a.m. He promised that when passed, the government would start the implementation on January 1, 2024.

Meanwhile, prior to the arrival of President Tinubu to the National Assembly complex, there was a high turnover of federal lawmakers at both the Senate and House of Representatives.

Senators break protocol

Senators, before the commencement of the joint session for the budget presentation by Tinubu, attended the plenary of the House of Representatives.

According to tradition and parliamentary procedures, it is required that Senators should proceed to the chamber of the House of Representatives for the joint session from their own chamber. And they are not go there individually.

However, contrary to the norms, some Senators went to the House of Representatives chamber ahead of the joint session out of ignorance. Their action left members of the House of Reps in the session baffled.

Apparently realising their mistakes, the Senators, including a very ranking one like Aliyu Wammako (APC Sokoto North) and quickly ran out of the chamber to join their colleagues.

However, as Wammakko and others were hurrying back to the Senate, their colleagues from the Senate had suspended the plenary for the joint session. So they joined their colleague to return back to the House Chamber.

The error made by the senators was due to a lack of deep knowledge and understanding of legislative practices and procedures for such joint sittings. This must have been caused by the high turnover of new lawmakers always recorded every four years.