Atiku Abubakar should lower school fees at his highbrow American University of Nigeria if he holds education seriously in the country, Rabiu Kwankwaso said.

Mr Kwankwaso, a former governor of Kano and presidential candidate of the NNPP, said during tonight’s town hall that Mr Abubakar could do well if he reduced fees at the school.

Mr Abubakar’s decision to establish a university as a way of helping Nigeria’s education was “good”, Mr Kwankwaso said at the event aired on Arise TV. But drastically making his tuition affordable would be a better contribution to education accessibility, especially in northern swathes of the country.

“I have to thank Waziri, he has an institution, a university which is a very good thing,” Mr Kwankwaso said. “The only thing is that he should try and make the fees and so on much lower so that our teeming supporters, Nigerians as many as possible can join university.”

Although Mr Abubakar was not given a chance to push back against Mr Kwankwaso’s comment, the former vice-president quickly said his opponent’s comment was “contrary” to the ground rules of the debate, which appeared to have emphasised non-aggression conduct among co-debaters.

Mr Abubakar also debunked Mr Kwankwaso’s claim that the PDP did not do well while holding central power for 16 years from 1999 through 2015, insisting that the party implemented reforms that turned the country’s education and economy around.

Mr Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party, Mr Kwankwaso and Peter Obi of the Labour Party are among the presidential candidates taking part in today’s dialogue.

Bola Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress sidestepped today’s town hall, which comes hours after he departed for London on an invitation from the Chatham House.