2025 Budget: Atiku warns against misappropriation of $1.07bn health allocation

…Says snakes, termites, monkeys must not swallow the fund

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, on Sunday cautioned against misappropriation of the $1.07b allocated to the health sector under the 2025 budget.

Atiku Abubakar, who was the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential candidate in the 2023 general election, drawing from Nigeria’s history of poor management of public funds, said the government must ensure that mechanisms are put in place to ensure prudent application of the fund.

“These funds must be expended transparently, with clear policies that explain their utilisation,” hr wrote.

He recalled the history of animals such as snakes, termites, and monkeys swallowing public funds and warned that such narratives must not plague this critical budget, especially, given recent cut in aids to the sector by the United States government.

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Atiku stated that the warning has become necessary, given that the government sourced a significant portion of the health sector funding from foreign loans, making it essential for Nigerians to understand how the borrowed money will be spent.

The Federal Executive Council (FEC), had last week approved the funds sourced from the International Development Fund to tackle health sector challenges, including issues in the Primary healthcare.

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Atiku in a statement on Sunday, noted that the mechanisms for the application of the fund must be transparent and accountable to track how the allocated money is spent.

“It is critical that every kobo budgeted for the health sector is utilized effectively, especially in the face of dwindling resources and the withdrawal of international support in some areas of healthcare services,” Atiku stated.

The former Vice President expressed concern that the Federal Government failed to provide detailed plans on how the fund will be used, adding that the $1.07 billion designated for primary healthcare, came, in addition to the N2.48 trillion already proposed in the health budget.

“If this administration fails to demonstrate transparency and accountability, it risks being seen as committing fraud under the guise of public interest,” he stated

Recall that the government had claimed that the funds will support governance improvements, healthcare worker training, and recruitment, Atiku however, questioned the absence of a commitment to any specific infrastructure development.

“Just recently, the government began a campaign of improvements in the standard of our tertiary health institutions, but Nigerians know that these teaching hospitals often lack basic amenities such as access to a steady supply of electricity.

“Undoubtedly, the Tinubu administration has failed woefully in the health sector because of the poor funding of the sector.

He noted that major diseases in the primary health sector remain malaria, tuberculosis, and HIV/AIDS treatment, adding that “ if President Tinubu’s administration meant well in its claim to prioritize the health of Nigerians, his government should explain how it plans to spend this intervention fund in addressing these diseases in the primary health sector.

“On the contrary, what the government announced in its panic response to President Donald Trump’s announcement of the cancellation of American aids for the treatment of HIV/AIDS in Nigeria was a paltry N5 billion”.

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He described this as a red flag and accused the administration of failing to address the pressing needs of tertiary hospitals and primary healthcare facilities.

“The state of our tertiary hospitals remains abysmal, with many lacking basic necessities such as a steady supply of electricity,” Atiku said. He added that diseases like malaria, tuberculosis, and HIV/AIDS—key challenges in the primary healthcare sector—require focused intervention, yet there is little clarity on how the new funds will address these issues.

Atiku also criticised the Tinubu administration’s response to the withdrawal of U.S. aid for HIV/AIDS treatment, noting that the government allocated only N5 billion as a countermeasure.

He also accused the administration of misrepresenting the status of Nigeria’s healthcare infrastructure and failing to prioritize the health of its citizens.

He therefore, charged the Federal Government to provide a “detailed framework for the use of the health sector budget and subject the appropriations to National Assembly scrutiny.”