Atiku Questions 2025 Budget Transparency, Takes Jab at Govt

Atiku Abubakar criticizes the Nigerian government over the 2025 budget, sarcastically referencing past incidents of missing funds allegedly swallowed by animals.

Atiku Abubakar, the former Vice President of Nigeria, has warned against the misuse of funds designated for the health sector in the 2025 budget. He referred to previous unusual incidents where animals—like snakes, termites, gorillas, and monkeys—were absurdly blamed for missing public money. He emphasized that such ridiculous occurrences must not be permitted with resources intended for healthcare.

With resources dwindling and external support for healthcare services diminishing, Abubakar stressed the importance of transparency and accountability in managing the government’s $1.07 billion health sector budget allocation. He advocated for mechanisms to ensure public audits and proper utilization of every kobo designated for healthcare.

The former vice president expressed concerns about the government’s lack of a detailed explanation for its plan to spend over a billion dollars in the primary health sector. He pointed out that investment in primary healthcare is essential for providing Nigerians with accessible and affordable medical services, but emphasized that it would be unethical for the government to allocate such a large amount without transparency regarding its intended use.

Abubakar noted that the Federal Government has unveiled plans to allocate an impressive $1.07 billion specifically for the primary health sector, supplementing the originally proposed N2.48 trillion healthcare budget.

He expressed further concern that most of this extra funding is derived from foreign loans, with only a small portion provided by an international donor agency. Given the necessity to repay these loans, Nigerians deserve full transparency and justification regarding how these funds are spent.

Abubakar also criticized the government for not committing to physical infrastructure projects in the health sector, indicating that this could be a warning sign of possible mismanagement or fraud.

The government stated that the funds are intended to enhance governance in healthcare and bolster primary health services across the country by focusing on recruiting, training, and retaining healthcare workers and teachers. Nevertheless, Abubakar contended that the government’s history of managing public funds is inadequate, particularly concerning humanitarian services. He emphasized that Nigerians should demand transparency and robust accountability measures instead of accepting ambiguous justifications.

He expressed skepticism about trusting this administration’s claims, particularly in light of its past instances of misleading Nigerians regarding investments in social infrastructure.

He highlighted the government’s misleading claims about improvements in tertiary hospitals, even though many of these facilities still lack basic amenities like a reliable electricity supply.

Abubakar expressed that the Tinubu administration has fallen short in addressing health sector issues due to inadequate funding. Major diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis, and HIV/AIDS continue to pose significant challenges within primary healthcare. He stressed that if the government is genuinely dedicated to improving healthcare, it needs to clearly outline its plans for utilizing this intervention fund to address these diseases effectively.

He also criticized the government’s response to the recent withdrawal of American aid for HIV/AIDS treatment, pointing out that its proposed intervention of N5 billion is severely insufficient.

Abubakar concluded that without the Tinubu administration providing a clear plan for managing this substantial health sector investment or ensuring it undergoes proper legislative review, one might safely assume it’s another instance of public funds being mismanaged under the pretense of benefiting Nigerians.