NELFUND: Atiku faults Tinubu's student-loan policy, unveils his own approach
- Atiku Abubakar's spokesperson attacked President Tinubu's position on NELFUND, accusing the administration of making education more expensive before offering loans as a fix
- Phrank Shaibu said Tinubu's warning that cheaper fuel would threaten student loans and workers' salaries amounted to fearmongering dressed up as economics
- Atiku's camp revealed a plan to reduce the underlying cost of education and offer debt forgiveness for qualifying student loans
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Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has openly challenged President Bola Tinubu's defence of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), with his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, saying the scheme creates debt rather than making education affordable.
Shaibu made the remarks in response to Tinubu's claim that NELFUND demonstrates his administration's commitment to education access and his warning that Atiku's proposed fuel price reduction could endanger student loans, worker salaries, and the minimum wage.
Source: Twitter
Atiku camp rejects NELFUND as proof of affordability
Shaibu dismissed Tinubu's portrayal of NELFUND as a success, arguing that the government first drove up school fees across institutions before turning around to present loans as the remedy. He said this approach does not make education affordable but instead burdens young Nigerians with debt before they even begin their careers.
"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.
He added that using the loan scheme to deflect from Atiku's cost-of-living proposals was dishonest, calling Tinubu's economic argument "fearmongering dressed up as economics."
On the broader question of student finance, Shaibu said a loan is a liability and not a measure of policy success. He argued that the real test of any education policy is whether ordinary families can keep their children in school without taking on debt, and that when loans become the only way students can survive rising fees, the government should not hold the loan up as evidence that the system is working.
"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," Shaibu said.
Atiku's proposed education policy
Shaibu outlined Atiku's alternative approach, saying the former vice president had reviewed the current student loan policy and concluded that young Nigerians should not begin adult life carrying a mountain of debt.
He said Atiku's plan would focus on bringing down the underlying cost of education rather than simply expanding lending. After a review, qualifying student debts would also be forgiven, so graduates could leave university with prospects rather than repayment obligations.
"Education should open doors, not mortgage the future," Shaibu said.
Atiku dismisses age concerns
Legit.ng earlier reported that Atiku Abubakar addressed questions about his age in a BBC Hausa interview published on Friday, pushing back against critics who raised concerns.
The ADC presidential candidate challenged the interviewer's premise by asking whether he appeared old enough to warrant the question.
Atiku also responded to claims that he had become a stumbling block to opposition coalition efforts ahead of the 2027 election.
Source: Legit.ng
