Afenifere Commends Laoshe for Repaying 35-year-old Student Loan
Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja
The pan-Yoruba socio-cultural and socio-political organisation, Afenifere, has commended a former member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Lanre Laoshe, for repaying the loan he obtained during his undergraduate years between 1976 and 1979.
Afenifere in a statement issued yesterday by its factional National Publicity Secretary, Jare Ajayi, recalled that Loshe, an active member of Afenifere, on Tuesday paid the sum of N3,189,217.00 into the account of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND).
According to the Director of Corporate Communications at NELFUND, Mr. Nasir Ayitogo, who made this known to members of the public, Laoshe paid the said sum which he voluntarily calculated to be the current value of the N1,200 loan he obtained under the then Federal Government Loan Scheme during the period.
Laoshe, who represented Abeokuta South Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives between 1999 and 2003 stated that to determine the current value of the N1,200 loan he received then, he obtained a table of average annual exchange rates from 1972 to 1985 from available sources at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) with the table indicating that in 1979, the exchange rate was $1.00 = N0.596; meaning that the sum of N1,200.00 was equivalent to $2,013.42 at the time.
Ajayi noted: So, using the current exchange rate of $1.00 = N1,583.98 to a dollar, he calculated the equivalent of N1,200 today to be N3,189,217.00. And that was the amount he remitted to NELFUND.
Afenifere described Laoshe’s conduct as “’ very exemplary’, adding that it was a practical demonstration of Omoluabi (a very ethical person) concept that the Yorubas espouse and expect from every member of the society.”
The group noted that the resuscitation of the student loan scheme provided the template for Laoshe to act out this elegant and exemplary behaviour.
President Ahmed Bola Tinubu had, on April 4, 2024, signed the revised Students Loan (Access to Higher Education) Bill into law following its passage by the National Assembly on Wednesday, March 20, 2024.
