Presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has pledged to review the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) scheme and introduce debt forgiveness for eligible beneficiaries if elected.
Atiku’s position was disclosed by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, who also criticised President Bola Tinubu’s recent comments on the student loan scheme.
Shaibu, in a statement issued on Tuesday evening, was reacting to a post by President Tinubu on X in which the president criticised Atiku’s economic proposals without directly mentioning him.
The former vice president’s spokesperson described Tinubu’s reference to NELFUND as an attempt to defend the government’s education policies against Atiku’s proposal to reduce energy costs.
According to Shaibu, it was contradictory for the administration to highlight student loans as evidence of improved access to education while students and families are allegedly facing higher education costs.
He argued that providing loans after education expenses have increased does not necessarily amount to making education affordable.
“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,” Shaibu said.
He further accused the government of creating financial pressure for students before offering borrowing as a means of coping with the situation, describing the approach as “witchcraft economics.”
The ADC presidential candidate’s camp said Atiku’s proposed approach would focus on addressing the underlying cost of education rather than relying primarily on loans.
Shaibu said Atiku had reviewed the existing student-loan framework and would consider forgiving debts owed by qualifying students under a revised policy.
He argued that young Nigerians should not be forced to begin their careers with substantial education-related financial obligations.
“Education should open doors, not mortgage the future,” he said.
According to Shaibu, a student loan should not be presented as equivalent to a scholarship, stressing that the effectiveness of an education policy should be measured by whether ordinary families can afford to keep their children in school without resorting to borrowing.
He also challenged the presidency to provide detailed figures supporting claims that Atiku’s proposed energy intervention could negatively affect NELFUND, workers’ salaries or the minimum wage.
Atiku has proposed measures aimed at reducing energy and transportation costs, including an intervention involving Nigerian crude supplied for domestic refining.
Shaibu maintained that the proposal would not necessarily undermine funding for education or workers’ welfare, arguing instead that lower energy and transportation expenses could improve the purchasing power of both workers and students.
“If your government has the arithmetic, Bola, publish it,” he challenged the presidency, demanding a breakdown of how the proposed energy policy would affect public finances.
The statement adds another dimension to the growing political debate over education financing, student loans, energy costs and the broader economic policies that could shape Nigeria’s 2027 presidential contest.
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While the Tinubu administration has promoted NELFUND as a major intervention aimed at expanding access to higher education, Atiku’s camp is advocating a model that places greater emphasis on reducing the cost of education and limiting the long-term debt burden on students.
