Reps Clash Over Proposed One-Year Tuition Waiver for Federal Students

The House of Representatives yesterday disagreed over a proposal to grant students in federal tertiary institutions a one-year tuition fee waiver.

The disagreement followed an objection by Minority Leader Fred Agbedi to the procedure adopted by Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu during plenary.

Agbedi faulted Kalu for inviting the House Leader to speak on the proposal after its sponsor had withdrawn it from consideration.

Citing Order 8, Statute 1 of the House rules, the minority leader argued that the Deputy Speaker breached the procedure for conducting legislative business.

He questioned why Kalu invited the House Leader to address an issue that was no longer before the House.

“We have passed personal explanation, we have passed orders of the day, and Mr Speaker, you stepped down a motion that was brought by Honourable Satomi, and then, you called on the Leader of the House to intervene on a matter that is not within the order,” he said.

Agbedi also raised concerns about the proposal’s relationship with the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), which provides financial assistance to eligible students.

He argued that lawmakers could not use a motion to introduce a tuition payment arrangement that might conflict with the existing NELFUND legislation.

“You cannot bring a motion to amend the NELFUND law. It is not as to how many people have benefited or have not benefited,” he said.

He added that the government could not simply assume responsibility for tuition fees across the country without considering the law already enacted by the National Assembly.

However, Kalu rejected the objection and ruled Agbedi out of order.

“You are ruled out of order. You are ruled out of order,” the Deputy Speaker declared.

Earlier, the motion’s sponsor, Ahmed, told lawmakers that he had consulted the House Leader, who addressed some concerns surrounding the proposal.

He subsequently stepped down the motion.

Kalu then invited Majority Leader Julius Ihonvbere to brief the House on NELFUND’s performance since the scheme began operations.

Ihonvbere disclosed that the fund had disbursed N372.6bn to students and tertiary institutions as of September 29, 2026.

He said N192.9bn went directly to tertiary institutions to cover tuition fees, while students received N79.7bn as monthly upkeep allowances.

According to him, NELFUND had received more than 2.3 million applications and covered 319 institutions.

He added that approximately 1.659 million students had benefited from the scheme.

The majority leader urged lawmakers to educate their constituents about the programme and encourage eligible students to apply.

He said applicants could complete the process online without personal connections or visits to government offices.

The proposed one-year waiver seeks to reduce the financial burden on households following the Federal Government’s economic reforms, including petrol subsidy removal.

Its sponsor cited rising food, transport, accommodation and electricity costs as major pressures on parents and guardians.

He warned that students who struggle to pay tuition and other compulsory charges could abandon their studies or defer admission.

The sponsor also argued that financial barriers to education could worsen youth unemployment, inequality and social instability.

He described education as essential to national development, poverty reduction and social mobility.

Consequently, he urged the Federal Government to introduce a temporary tuition waiver for eligible students in federal universities, polytechnics, colleges of education and other federal tertiary institutions.

The motion also called on federal and state governments to make any relief programme time-bound and subject to periodic review.

It stressed that the intervention should not undermine the quality, accessibility or long-term sustainability of tertiary education.