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The presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, plans to review the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) scheme and introduce debt relief for qualifying students if elected president in 2027.
Atiku’s position was disclosed by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, in a statement issued on Tuesday evening.
Shaibu said Atiku would prioritise reducing the cost of education rather than relying solely on loans to help students cope with rising fees.
According to him, the former vice president does not believe young Nigerians should leave school burdened by debts before beginning their working lives.
“His approach will reduce the underlying cost of education and, after review, provide forgiveness for qualifying student debts so that young Nigerians can graduate with hope rather than repayment burdens. Education should open doors, not mortgage the future”, said Shaibu.
Shaibu’s statement followed a post by President Bola Tinubu on X, in which the President defended his economic policies while criticising Atiku’s position on the economy without mentioning him by name.
The Atiku aide rejected the use of NELFUND as evidence that education had become more affordable under the Tinubu administration.
He argued that the government had allowed fees to increase in some institutions before introducing loans for students struggling to meet the higher costs.
“Celebrating NELFUND as proof that education has become affordable under your government is like setting school fees on fire and then boasting that you lent students a bucket of water. What exactly is the wisdom in presiding over dramatic increases in school fees in some institutions, only to turn around and celebrate loans as the solution?”, he queried.
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Shaibu described the approach as “witchcraft economics”, accusing the government of creating financial pressures for students and subsequently presenting loans as a solution.
“You make education more expensive, lend students money to survive the increase, and then demand applause for the rescue. That is not affordability. It is witchcraft economics: create the burden with one hand, offer debt with the other, and demand applause for the intervention.”
He argued that a student loan should not be portrayed as a scholarship or proof that education had become affordable.
Instead, Shaibu said the effectiveness of an education policy should be measured by whether ordinary Nigerian families could keep their children in school without resorting to borrowing.
He also accused the Presidency of attempting to frighten students and workers with claims that Atiku’s proposal to reduce energy costs could affect NELFUND, workers’ salaries or the minimum wage.
“If your government has the arithmetic, Bola, publish it. Show Nigerians, line by line, how a transparently budgeted subsidy tied to Nigerian crude and domestic refining suddenly empties NELFUND or workers’ pay packets”, he demanded.
Shaibu said Atiku’s proposed economic approach would instead seek to lower energy and transportation costs, which he argued would increase the purchasing power of workers and reduce the financial pressure on students and households.
“Reduce the cost of energy so that salaries buy more. Reduce transport costs so that less of a worker’s wage disappears merely getting to work. You cannot make life painfully expensive, push students towards debt to survive the consequences, and then frighten those same students that cheaper fuel will take their loans away”, he declared.
