Former vice president and 2027 presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has pledged to review Nigeria’s student loan scheme (NELFUND) and introduce measures that could lead to the writing off of qualifying student debts if elected president.
Atiku’s Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, disclosed this in a statement released on Tuesday while responding to President Bola Tinubu’s recent criticism of Atiku’s economic proposals.
Shaibu said Atiku’s proposed approach to education would focus on reducing the underlying cost of schooling and preventing young Nigerians from being burdened with debts simply because they could not afford higher education.
According to him, Atiku believes education should provide opportunities for young Nigerians rather than leave them with significant financial liabilities after graduation.
“The good news for Nigerian students is that Atiku has reviewed the current student-loan policy and believes education should not begin with a mountain of debt hanging over a young Nigerian’s future,” Shaibu said.
He added that Atiku’s proposed administration would, after reviewing the existing scheme, provide forgiveness for qualifying student debts.
“Education should open doors, not mortgage the future,” he said.
Shaibu argued that the student loan programme should not be presented as evidence that education had become affordable, particularly where students were compelled to borrow because of rising tuition and other education-related expenses.
He accused the Tinubu administration of increasing the cost of living and education while subsequently presenting loans and other interventions as solutions to the hardship.
The statement also criticised Tinubu’s recent defence of his economic policies, particularly the removal of petrol subsidy and the government’s claim that cheaper transportation, increased food production and other relief measures would soon be introduced.
Shaibu maintained that Atiku’s economic plan, known as the Atiku Economic Recovery Plan (AERP), was designed to reduce costs at source rather than allow prices to rise before providing palliatives.
He said the plan would support domestic refining through a capped and transparently budgeted framework involving Nigerian crude, with independent auditing and measures to ensure that any benefit was passed on to consumers.
According to him, lowering energy costs would have a ripple effect across the economy by reducing transportation expenses and the cost of moving agricultural produce and manufactured goods.
Shaibu also faulted the government’s argument that Atiku’s proposal could threaten student loans, workers’ salaries or the minimum wage.
He challenged the Federal Government to publish detailed figures showing how a targeted and capped intervention in domestic refining would affect funding for the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) or workers’ wages.
“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 said.
The Atiku aide further criticised the government over the impact of subsidy removal, claiming that Nigerians had endured increased transportation and food costs as a result.
He said the government had disclosed that subsidy removal generated about ₦15.8 trillion between June 2023 and December 2025, and demanded greater transparency on how the funds had translated into tangible benefits for ordinary Nigerians
Shaibu also renewed calls for reconciliation of nearly ₦30 trillion allegedly identified across Federation Account revenues, deductions, savings, transfers and related entries.
He further questioned the approval of Import Duty Exemption Certificates covering imports valued at about ₦34 trillion in 2025, demanding disclosure of the beneficiaries, values, legal basis and public benefits associated with the exemptions.
The aide to the former vice president also accused the President of rejecting cheaper energy and other cost-of-living measures when proposed by Atiku while simultaneously promising similar relief measures under his administration
Shaibu said Nigerians were entitled to question why such interventions were becoming a priority after years of economic hardship.
He maintained that Atiku would continue to engage Nigerians on policies aimed at reducing the cost of living ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
