By Omeiza Ajayi, Abuja
Presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has welcomed the Federal Government’s decision to suspend the proposed increase in West African Examinations Council WAEC and National Examinations Council NECO registration fees, even as he declared that Nigeria cannot continue to be governed as a laboratory for reckless policy experiments.
In a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, on Monday in Abuja, the former vice president described the reversal as a victory for millions of Nigerian parents, students, civil society organisations, and citizens who refused to remain silent in the face of what he called an unjust policy.
According to him, the decision vindicated the concerns he had earlier raised that pricing public examinations beyond the reach of ordinary Nigerians would deepen educational inequality, worsen the out-of-school children crisis, and deny countless brilliant but indigent students the opportunity to pursue higher education.
“The suspension is welcome, but it also raises an uncomfortable question: why must this government always wait for public outrage before correcting policies that should never have been conceived in the first place?
“Governing is not a laboratory for reckless experimentation. Sound governments consult before they decide, not after Nigerians have been subjected to needless anxiety and uncertainty, he said.
He said it was becoming a disturbing pattern for the administration to announce harsh policies with little evidence of meaningful consultation, only to retreat when confronted by overwhelming public opposition, adding that such conduct does not amount to responsive governance but reflects poor policy formulation.
Atiku noted that the proposed examination fee hike would have erected yet another financial barrier before millions of Nigerian children whose families are already crushed by inflation, rising transportation costs, soaring electricity tariffs, and declining purchasing power, insisting that education should be the ladder out of poverty and not another luxury reserved for the privileged.
He commended parents, teachers, labour organisations, student groups, education stakeholders, and every patriotic Nigerian whose collective voice compelled the reconsideration, stressing that democracy works best when citizens hold government accountable.
However, the former Vice President said the suspension of the policy should not be the end of the conversation, urging the Federal Government to engage stakeholders to develop a sustainable funding model for WAEC and NECO that strengthens the examination bodies without transferring the burden to struggling families.
Atiku urged the Tinubu administration to treat the suspension as an opportunity for introspection and to embrace evidence-based policymaking anchored in dialogue, empathy, and the welfare of ordinary Nigerians, warning that a government that listens only after Nigerians cry out is a government that has stopped listening to the people it was elected to serve.
“Thankfully, Nigerians now have a clear choice as the 2027 election approaches. They can choose an administration whose policies are too often driven by trial and error, or they can choose experienced leadership with a proven record in national governance. The lesson from this latest policy reversal is simple: a nation as important as Nigeria cannot be governed like a laboratory for endless experimentation. Nigerians deserve leadership that listens before it acts, consults before it decides, and gets it right the first time,”ime”, he declared.
