Former Vice President and African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has promised to review the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) programme and introduce debt forgiveness for qualifying Nigerian students.
Drivetvnews gathered that Atiku’s position was made public by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, in response to President Bola Tinubu’s recent comments defending the student-loan scheme.
Shaibu criticised the Federal Government for presenting NELFUND as evidence that education has become more affordable, arguing that rising education costs had placed additional financial pressure on students and their families.
He said Atiku’s proposed approach would focus first on reducing the underlying cost of education rather than relying primarily on loans to help students cope with increasing expenses.
According to him, Atiku believes eligible students should not be forced to begin their working lives burdened by education-related debt. He said a review of the existing framework would determine which student debts could qualify for forgiveness.
Shaibu also argued that education loans should not be presented as equivalent to scholarships, maintaining that the effectiveness of education policies should ultimately be measured by whether ordinary families can afford to keep their children in school.
He further rejected claims that Atiku’s proposal to reduce energy costs would negatively affect NELFUND, workers’ salaries or the minimum wage.
Shaibu maintained that lowering energy and transportation costs would instead improve the purchasing power of workers and reduce the financial pressure on students and their families.
He said the goal of Atiku’s proposed policies was to make essential services more affordable rather than expanding the debt burden on Nigerians.
