Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has questioned the whereabouts of funds the Federal Government claimed would be freed for critical sectors following the removal of fuel subsidy, saying the fresh threat of an industrial action by university lecturers has exposed what he described as the “fraud” behind the policy.
Atiku made the allegation in a statement issued on Sunday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu.
The former Vice President said the Tinubu administration had justified the removal of fuel subsidy on the grounds that the savings would be redirected to education, healthcare, infrastructure and other essential services.
He, however, said the renewed threat of an Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) strike, coupled with unresolved agreements, unpaid entitlements and inadequate infrastructure in public universities, had raised serious questions about the utilisation of the funds.
“If the subsidy is gone and Nigerians have paid for that decision through unprecedented hardship, then President Tinubu owes the country a simple answer: where is the money?” Atiku asked.
He argued that Nigerians had continued to bear the consequences of subsidy removal through higher fuel prices, transportation costs, food prices, energy bills and rising school fees, without seeing corresponding improvements in essential public services.
According to him, the latest ASUU strike threat has further exposed the disconnect between the Federal Government’s claims and the realities confronting the country’s universities.
Atiku said more than three years after the removal of subsidy, university lecturers were still demanding the implementation of agreements and settlement of outstanding obligations, while public universities continued to grapple with inadequate infrastructure and limited capacity.
“More than three years later, lecturers are still raising concerns over unpaid salaries and unresolved agreements. ASUU is again warning of industrial action. University infrastructure remains inadequate, while millions of young Nigerians compete every year for limited admission spaces,” he said.
The former Vice President also questioned claims that increased revenues arising from subsidy removal had translated into larger allocations to state governments.
He asked why public education remained under pressure if substantially more funds were now available to the states.
“Government officials repeatedly tell Nigerians that subsidy savings have translated into larger allocations to states. But if substantially more money is supposedly flowing to the states, why has the condition of public education not improved accordingly?” he asked.
Atiku said the problem extended beyond federal universities, noting that some state-owned institutions had also experienced industrial disputes and disruptions.
He described the situation as evidence of deeper problems in the funding and management of tertiary education in Nigeria.
The former Vice President also criticised the government’s student loan policy, arguing that rising living costs had made it increasingly difficult for Nigerian families to afford university education.
He questioned the rationale of asking students to take loans after government policies had, according to him, significantly increased the financial burden on households.
“What kind of reform first empties a family’s pocket and then offers the child a loan to survive the hardship government helped create?” Atiku asked.
He further expressed concern over the capacity of Nigerian universities to accommodate the country’s growing population, asking where new classrooms, laboratories, hostels and other teaching facilities were being provided to meet increasing demand.
“You cannot raise the cost of education, leave infrastructure inadequate, fail to settle lecturers’ legitimate claims, disregard agreements and then congratulate yourself for giving students loans,” he said.
Atiku also accused the administration of demanding sacrifices from ordinary Nigerians while allegedly granting concessions and privileges to powerful interests.
“The poor are told there is no money for subsidy. Students are told to borrow. Lecturers are told to wait. Parents are told to endure,” he said.
He maintained that Nigerians deserved greater accountability over the resources the government said would become available following subsidy removal.
According to him, the government promised that the policy would free funds for investment in education, healthcare, infrastructure and social welfare, but the continued crisis in the tertiary education sector suggests that the promised benefits have yet to fully materialise.
“The sacrifice has been collected from Nigerians in full. The promised benefits have not been delivered in full,” Atiku said.
He therefore challenged President Bola Tinubu to account for the resources freed by the removal of fuel subsidy.
Atiku said the renewed ASUU strike threat, unresolved obligations to university lecturers, inadequate infrastructure and the rising cost of education demonstrated that Nigeria’s tertiary education crisis remained far from being resolved.
“Tinubu removed subsidy from the people, but he has not removed the threat of ASUU strikes. He has not resolved the crisis of unpaid obligations. He has not sufficiently expanded our universities. He has not made education more affordable. And he certainly has not removed the hardship confronting Nigerian families,” he said.
