2027: I will review NELFUND, offer debt forgiveness to Nigerian students — Atiku

Presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has said he will review the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) policy and introduce debt forgiveness for qualifying Nigerian students if elected president in 2027.

Atiku’s position was disclosed by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, in a statement on Tuesday evening while responding to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s post on X.

Shaibu said Atiku’s proposed review would be aimed at ensuring that Nigerian students do not leave school burdened by education loans.

He argued that reducing the cost of education should take priority over using loans to help students cope with rising expenses.

“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.

He also rejected Tinubu’s use of NELFUND as a defence of the administration’s education policies, arguing that loans should not be presented as evidence that education has become more 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. 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 policy approach as “witchcraft economics,” arguing that government should not increase the financial pressure on students and subsequently offer loans as a remedy.

“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.”

According to him, Atiku has already reviewed the existing student-loan framework and believes young Nigerians should not be forced to begin their working lives with education-related debts.

Shaibu maintained that the distinction between a loan and a scholarship should remain clear, saying the success of an education policy should instead be measured by whether families can afford to keep their children in school without resorting to borrowing.

He said the Federal Government should not “parade the loan itself as evidence that the system is working” when the rising cost of education has placed additional pressure on ordinary families.

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The former vice president’s aide also accused the presidency of attempting to create fear among students and workers over Atiku’s proposal to reduce energy costs through an intervention involving Nigerian crude supplied for domestic refining.

“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 energy proposal would instead seek to ease the cost of living by making salaries stretch further and reducing transportation expenses.

“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.