Atiku Vows to Review NELFUND, Offer Debt Forgiveness to Nigerian Students

African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar has vowed to review the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) and introduce debt forgiveness for qualifying students if elected in 2027, escalating a public back-and-forth with President Bola Tinubu over the true cost of education under his administration.

Atiku, a former vice president now seeking the presidency for the sixth time, faces no legal dispute over this pledge; it is a campaign policy position rather than a matter before any court or tribunal.

What set off the exchange

Findings by ValidViewNetwork show the pledge, disclosed through Atiku’s Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, came in direct response to a Tinubu post on X defending NELFUND as evidence that education had become more affordable under his government.

Tinubu’s post also warned that Atiku’s proposed measures to cut fuel and energy costs, tied to Nigerian crude supplied for domestic refining, could threaten funding for the loan scheme and workers’ salaries.

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Shaibu’s sharp rebuttal

Shaibu rejected that framing outright, arguing the government had first driven up the cost of tertiary education before offering loans as a fix, an approach he said burdens young Nigerians with debt rather than making school genuinely 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,” he said, describing Tinubu’s argument as “fearmongering dressed up as economics.”

The proposal itself

According to Shaibu, Atiku’s plan centres on reducing the underlying cost of education rather than simply financing it through debt, alongside a review process that could see qualifying student loans forgiven outright.

“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,” Shaibu said, framing the pledge around a simple principle: “Education should open doors, not mortgage the future.”

A demand for the government’s own numbers

Checks by ValidViewNetwork show Shaibu also challenged the Tinubu administration to publicly justify its warning that Atiku’s energy proposals would drain NELFUND or workers’ pay, demanding the government publish a detailed breakdown.

“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, arguing instead that lower energy and transport costs would ease pressure on families and students alike.

He further pressed the government to account for the roughly ₦15.8 trillion it says fuel subsidy removal generated between June 2023 and December 2025, asking for evidence of how those funds have improved ordinary Nigerians’ lives.

Where the fight goes next

With both camps now trading figures and accusations over who bears responsibility for the cost of education and living more broadly, the NELFUND exchange has become one more early flashpoint in a 2027 contest already shaping up around Nigeria’s economic hardship.

Whether the Tinubu administration responds with the detailed breakdown Shaibu is demanding, or simply continues defending NELFUND’s record as originally framed, remains to be seen.