Former Vice President and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has promised to review the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) scheme and introduce debt forgiveness for qualifying Nigerian students if elected.
Atiku’s position was disclosed by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, in a statement issued on Tuesday evening.
Shaibu was responding to President Bola Tinubu’s recent post on X, in which the President defended his administration’s economic policies and cited NELFUND as part of its efforts to support Nigerian students.
The former vice president’s aide described the government’s presentation of NELFUND as evidence that education had become more affordable as “dishonest.”
According to Shaibu, the government had increased the cost of education in some institutions before introducing loans to help students cope with the rising expenses.
He argued that education loans should not be presented as a substitute for affordable education.
“Education should open doors, not mortgage the future,” Shaibu said, stressing that Atiku’s proposed approach would focus on reducing the underlying cost of education.
He said Atiku had already reviewed the existing student-loan framework and would, if elected, consider forgiving debts owed by students who meet certain conditions.
Shaibu also rejected claims that Atiku’s proposed energy intervention would undermine NELFUND, workers’ salaries or the minimum wage.
He challenged the Federal Government to provide detailed figures showing how Atiku’s proposal to reduce energy costs through Nigerian crude supplied to domestic refineries would affect funding for NELFUND and workers’ earnings.
According to him, reducing energy and transportation costs would improve the purchasing power of workers’ salaries and reduce the financial burden on students and their families.
Shaibu maintained that the government should focus on making education affordable rather than encouraging students to borrow simply to remain in school.
.jpeg)
.jpeg "Sunayen kofofin aljanna guda takwas 8")
0 Comment about the Post: