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| Atiku Abubakar vows to review the student loan |
ADC candidate Atiku Abubakar vows to review the student loan scheme and
forgive qualifying education debts so graduates are not burdened by
repayment.
African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar has
vowed to review the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) and provide debt
forgiveness for qualifying Nigerian students if elected president.
The pledge was contained in a statement issued on Tuesday by his Senior
Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu. The response came
after President Bola Tinubu referenced NELFUND in a post defending his
administration’s education and economic policies.
Shaibu dismissed as “dishonest” any attempt to present the student loan
scheme as proof that education has become more affordable under the current
government. He argued that the administration first allowed school fees to
rise sharply in some institutions and then introduced loans as a
solution.
“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. “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 described the approach as “witchcraft economics,” explaining that the
government created a heavier financial burden on students and families and
then offered debt as a form of relief while seeking public applause for the
intervention.
According to the statement, Atiku has already reviewed the existing
student-loan framework and does not believe young Nigerians should begin
their working lives under the weight of education debt. His proposed
approach would first seek to reduce the underlying cost of education and,
after a formal review of NELFUND, introduce forgiveness for qualifying
student debts.
“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,” Shaibu stated.
He emphasised that a loan should not be mistaken for a scholarship and that
the true measure of any education policy is whether families can keep their
children in school without being forced into borrowing. Government, he
argued, should not parade the existence of loans as evidence that the system
is working once the cost of education has become prohibitive for ordinary
households.
Shaibu also rejected suggestions that Atiku’s proposed energy interventions
would undermine NELFUND or affect workers’ salaries and the minimum wage. He
challenged the presidency to publish a clear breakdown showing how any
transparently budgeted subsidy linked to Nigerian crude and domestic
refining would empty the student loan fund or cut pay packets.
“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.
With the 2027 general elections approaching, Atiku’s position on NELFUND
adds education financing and student debt to the growing list of policy
issues separating the leading presidential contenders. The former vice
president is presenting debt forgiveness and cost reduction as central to
giving young Nigerians a fairer start after graduation.