Atiku Blasts Tinubu Government Over Education Fee Hikes, Says Poor Families Are Being Priced Out of School.

Former VP warns that making education more expensive will push millions more Nigerian children out of classrooms.

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has launched a blistering attack on the Tinubu administration's decision to hike fees in Federal Unity Colleges and approve a uniform ₦50,000 examination fee for WAEC and NECO candidates starting in 2027.

In a statement released through his media aide, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku didn't hold back. He described the move as "cruel" and "economically insensitive" especially at a time when Nigerian families are struggling with record inflation, skyrocketing food prices, and widespread unemployment.

"You can't claim to care about Nigerian children while putting up walls between them and their education," Atiku said. "Education isn't a luxury for the rich it's the birthright of every Nigerian child."

The former presidential candidate pointed to Nigeria's already staggering out of school population estimated between 10.5 million and 15 million warning that these new fees will only make things worse.

"Any government that sees a national emergency like this and chooses to make education more expensive isn't solving problems they're creating bigger ones," he argued.

Atiku zeroed in on what he called the "cruel double punishment" facing Nigerian students. Even those who manage to afford the exams, he said, face a bottleneck because Nigeria's universities only have space for about 500,000 to 700,000 students each year while over 2 million seek admission.

"So you're priced out of the exam, or you pay up and still can't get in because there aren't enough seats. Either way, the children of the poor lose," he said.

The former VP also took a swipe at the government's much touted student loan scheme, NELFUND, calling it a hollow gesture.

"What good is a university loan to a child who couldn't afford secondary school or the exam to get into university in the first place?" he asked. "You can't claim to be expanding access to higher education while shutting the door before students even reach it."

Atiku didn't mince words about what he thinks needs to happen. He's calling on President Bola Tinubu to immediately reverse both fee increases and convene urgent talks with stakeholders on how to sustainably fund public education.

"Countries that dream of greatness invest more in education during hard times, not less," he said. "Nigeria cannot build a competitive economy while pricing its children out of classrooms. That's not reform that's punishment."

The former VP also made a campaign promise: if his party, the African Democratic Congress (ADC), wins the next election, they will scrap these "unjust" fee hikes and make education accessible to every Nigerian child, regardless of their family's financial situation.

"Every child priced out of school today could become tomorrow's victim of poverty, child labour, or crime," Atiku warned. "A nation that fails its children is a nation that has no future."