Atiku Rejects Tinubu’s Education Funding As "Witchcraft Economics," Vows To Write-off Students NELFUND Loans 

Atiku spoke against the backdrop of a veiled  attack by President Bola Tinubu on X, in which he defended his economic policies while criticising  the ADC's presidential candidate’s position on the economy, even as he rejected Tinubu’s use of NELFUND as evidence that education had become more affordable under his administration.
He further noted that the government had allowed education costs to rise in some institutions before offering loans to students struggling to meet the higher fees.
His words, “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. What exactly is the wisdom in presiding over dramatic increases in school fees in some institutions, only to turn around and celebrate loans as the solution?”
Atiku also, described the approach as “witchcraft economics”, saying the government was creating a financial burden for students and offering loans as solution.
“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,” he further told Tinubu, noting that a student's loan should not be presented as a scholarship or proof that education was affordable.
According to him, the real test of an education policy should be whether Nigerian families can afford to keep their children in school without having to borrow money.
“Reduce the cost of energy so that salaries buy more. Reduce transport costs so that less of a worker’s wage disappears merely getting to work. You cannot make life painfully expensive, push students towards debt to survive the consequences, and then frighten those same students that cheaper fuel will take their loans away.

“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 demanded.
Atiku pointed out that his plan would instead seek to reduce the cost of energy and transportation, allowing workers’ incomes to stretch further and reducing the amount spent by students and families on basic needs, accusing 
the Presidency of trying to scare students and workers by suggesting that his (Atiku’s) proposed plan to reduce energy costs would affect NELFUND, workers’ salaries or the minimum wage.