Former Reps member, Lanre Laoshe, repays student loan to NELFUND after 45 years
By Jeffrey Agbo
Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) on Tuesday said a former member of the House of Representatives, Lanre Laoshe, has repaid the federal government’s students loan he enjoyed as a student between 1976 and 1979.
the fund said in a statement by its spokesman, Nasir Ayitogo, that although Laoshe was given a loan of N1,200 he paid back the sum of N3,189,217.00.
The statement read: “The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) is pleased to announce that Hon. Lanre Laoshe, a former beneficiary of the Federal Government Student Loan Scheme, has graciously repaid his N1,200 student loan, received between 1976 and 1979, with the sum of N3,189,217.00.
“Hon. Laoshe, a distinguished former member of the House of Representatives and a former Deputy Whip, who benefited from the defunct Federal Government Student Loan Scheme expressed his deep appreciation for the financial support he received from the Federal Government during his educational pursuit.
“He stated that in order to determine the current equivalent of the N1,200 loan, he obtained a table of average annual exchange rates from 1972 to 1985 from sources at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
“The table indicated 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.
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“Using the current exchange rate of $1.00 = N1,583.98, Hon. Laoshe calculated that the equivalent amount today would be N3,189,217.00.
“As a result, he issued a Polaris Bank Plc bank draft (No. 14670909) for this amount to NELFUND, marking his repayment as a token of gratitude to the Federal Government for the role it played in his educational journey.”
NELFUND said this act of goodwill and integrity by Laoshe serves as an inspiring example of the impact that government support can have on individuals.
“NELFUND is deeply appreciative of Hon. Laoshe’s gesture and remains committed to supporting the educational aspirations of Nigerian students through its various programs,” the statement added.