The Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Hon. Fred Agbedi, during Thursday’s plenary faulted the legislative procedure adopted by the Deputy Speaker, Hon. Benjamin Kalu, following the decision to step down a motion seeking a one-year tuition fee waiver for students in federal tertiary institutions.
The development sparked a row on the floor of the House after Hon. Agbedi, citing Order 8, Rule 1, on the arrangement of business, accused the presiding officer of departing from the established rules of the legislature.
The Minority Leader expressed concern that the Deputy Speaker had called on the House Leader to address issues relating to the motion after it had already been stepped down, arguing that the matter was no longer properly before the House for debate.
He said: ‘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.’
Hon. Agbedi further argued that the proposed tuition fee waiver conflicted with the existing Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) legislation, which already provides a statutory framework for financing students’ tertiary education.
According to him, ‘You cannot bring a motion to amend the NELFUND law. It is not as to how many people have benefited or have not benefited. Because for you to say that the Federal Government should pay school fees for all Nigerians, when you have NELFUND, an Act of this House, that has already prescribed how it should be done, would be bringing a motion to amend a law that was passed and assented by Mr. President.’
Hon. Agbedi maintained that inviting the House Leader to speak on the matter after the motion had been withdrawn was inconsistent with parliamentary practice.
He said: ‘And so, for you to beckon like the leader of the House to discuss on this matter that was not before the House was an aberration. It has no place in our rulebook, Mr. Speaker.’
However, Hon. Kalu overruled the Minority Leader, declaring: ‘You are ruled out of order. You are ruled out of order.’
Earlier, when called upon to lead the debate on the motion, the sponsor, Hon. Ahmed Satomi, informed the House that he had consulted with the House Leader, who addressed several concerns raised in the proposal, prompting his decision to step it down.
Following the withdrawal, Hon. Kalu invited the Majority Leader, Hon. Julius Ihonvbere, to brief lawmakers on the milestones recorded by NELFUND since the commencement of its operations.
In his briefing, Hon. Ihonvbere disclosed that the fund had disbursed a total of N372.6 billion to students and tertiary institutions as of September 29, 2026.
He explained that N192.9 billion had been paid directly to tertiary institutions to cover tuition fees, while N79.7 billion had been disbursed directly to students as monthly upkeep allowances.
The Majority Leader further revealed that NELFUND had received more than 2.3 million applications, with 319 institutions covered under the scheme and approximately 1.659 million students benefiting from the programme nationwide.
He urged lawmakers to sensitise their constituents to the initiative and encourage eligible students to apply, stressing that the application process is conducted entirely online without the need for personal connections or visits to government offices.
According to the text of the motion listed on the Order Paper, Hon. Satomi had highlighted the economic difficulties confronting Nigerian households following the Federal Government’s economic reforms, including the removal of the petrol subsidy and foreign exchange adjustments.
The lawmaker noted that escalating costs of food, transportation, accommodation, electricity, and other basic needs have compounded the financial strain on parents and guardians struggling to meet their children’s educational expenses.
He warned that students across universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education face growing risks of dropping out, deferring their academic programmes, or suffering prolonged financial distress due to inability to pay tuition and other mandatory institutional charges.
He added that financial barriers to higher education could exacerbate youth unemployment, socioeconomic inequality, and broader social instability.
While describing education as an indispensable driver of national development, poverty alleviation, and social mobility, the motion had proposed a temporary, targeted, and adequately funded intervention to cushion students against economic headwinds.
It had specifically prayed the House to urge the Federal Government to introduce a one-year emergency tuition fee waiver for eligible students in federal tertiary institutions, while urging federal and state authorities to ensure that any relief scheme remains time-bound, periodically reviewed, and implemented without undermining the quality and sustainability of higher education.