WAEC, NECO Fee Suspension Vindicates Me – Atiku

 Presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress,
ADC, Atiku Abubakar, has reacted to the Federal Government’s decision to
suspend the proposed increase in West African Senior School Certificate
Examination, WASSCE, and the National Examinations Council, Senior School
Certificate Examination, registration fees.

 

Atiku, in a statement by his spokesperson, Phrank Shaibu, on
Monday, said that Nigeria is not a laboratory for ‘reckless policy’.

Recall that the Federal Government on Monday
announced the suspension of WAEC and NECO registration fee increases amid
backlash.

Reacting, Atiku said the decision has vindicated the
concerns he raised when he warned 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.

“It is becoming a disturbing pattern. This administration
announces harsh policies with little evidence of meaningful consultation, only
to retreat when confronted by overwhelming public opposition. That is not
responsive governance; it reflects poor policy formulation.

“The purpose of leadership is to anticipate the consequences
of public policy before it is implemented. A government that repeatedly relies
on public resistance to discover its mistakes is admitting, whether
intentionally or not, that it is disconnected from the daily realities of its
citizens.

“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,” he stated.

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