Atiku Vows To Review NELFUND, Offer Debt Forgiveness To Nigerian Students

The presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has vowed to review the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) scheme and introduce debt forgiveness for qualifying Nigerian students if elected.

Atiku’s position was disclosed by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, in a statement on Tuesday evening, in response to President Bola Tinubu’s recent comments on the economy and the student loan scheme.

Tinubu had referenced NELFUND in an overnight post on X while responding to Atiku’s economic proposals, particularly his call for measures to reduce the cost of energy.

Shaibu, however, dismissed the president’s presentation of NELFUND as evidence that education had become more affordable under his administration, describing the argument as “dishonest.”

According to him, the government had contributed to the rising cost of education before introducing student loans as a means of helping students cope with the financial burden.

“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.

Shaibu described the approach as “witchcraft economics,” arguing that government should focus on reducing the cost of education rather than encouraging students to accumulate debt.

“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 said Atiku had already reviewed the existing student-loan framework and would seek to ensure that Nigerian graduates were not forced to begin their working lives burdened by education debt.

“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.

The former vice president’s aide maintained that a loan could not be equated with a scholarship, stressing that the success of any education policy should be measured by whether ordinary families could afford to keep their children in school without borrowing.

He accused the federal government of “parading the loan itself as evidence that the system is working” despite the rising cost of education.

Shaibu also rejected claims from the presidency that Atiku’s proposed intervention to reduce energy costs could affect NELFUND funding, workers’ salaries or the minimum wage.

He challenged the Tinubu administration to provide details of its calculations showing how Atiku’s proposal, which is targeted at Nigerian crude supplied for domestic refining, would affect funding for students and workers.

“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.

According to Shaibu, reducing energy and transportation costs would instead improve the purchasing power of workers’ salaries and reduce the financial burden on students and their families.

“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.