Lanre Laoshe, a former member of the House of Representatives, has repaid N1,200 student loans drawn from the federal government between 1976 and 1979 with N3,189,217.00 to the Nigerian Education Loan Fund.
NELFUND in a statement by its Spokesperson, Nasir Ayitogo on Tuesday said Laoshe, an insurance practitioner and chairman of Leverage Insurance Brokers benefited from the defunct Federal Government Student Loan Scheme and expressed gratitude for the financial support he received during his education.
He calculated the current equivalent of the loan using historical exchange rates from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and repaid the amount as a token of appreciation to the Federal Government.
“NELFUND has commended Laoshe’s gesture, citing it as an example of the impact of government’s support on individuals and the importance of honouring commitments. The organisation remains committed to supporting Nigerian students’ educational aspirations through its programmes.
“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 pursuits. “He stated that 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. 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.
“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.
“This act of goodwill and integrity by Hon. Laoshe serves as an inspiring example of the impact that government support can have on individuals and highlights the importance of honouring one’s commitments.
“NELFUND is deeply appreciative of Hon. Laoshe’s gesture and remains committed to supporting the educational aspirations of Nigerian students through its various programmes.”
Laoshe who served in the House of Representatives between 1999 and 2003 was a member of the Finance Committee and the sponsor of the Insurance Act 2003 amendment. While serving as a member of the House Committee on Communication, he also initiated the National Telecom emergency code to assist Nigerians during disasters and also sponsored the bill for the rejuvenation of the then Nigerian Accounting Standard Board (NASB) as well as pushed for its metamorphosis into the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRC).
