Atiku to FG: Snake, monkey mustn’t swallow $1.07bn health funds
By Jeffrey Agbo
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has cautioned the Federal Government against mismanaging funds allocated to the health sector in the 2025 budget, emphasising the need for full transparency and accountability.
In a statement on Sunday, Atiku urged President Bola Tinubu’s administration to ensure that every kobo of the intervention fund is properly utilised to strengthen Nigeria’s healthcare system. He warned that past incidents of missing public funds—often attributed to bizarre claims involving animals like snakes, termites, gorillas and monkeys—must not be repeated in the health sector.
“In recent years, there have been bizarre claims of animals being held accountable for missing public funds. Some of these fairytale-like claims were never investigated or punished to deter future offenders,” he said.
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Atiku stressed that given Nigeria’s dwindling resources and reduced external support for healthcare services, it is crucial for the government to establish mechanisms for public audit and accountability.
“Against the backdrop of dwindling resources that has been exacerbated by the withdrawal of support in certain areas of our healthcare services, it is important that every kobo budgeted for the health sector has to be maximally utilised,” he said.
The former vice president also criticised the government for failing to provide a clear framework detailing how over $1 billion in primary healthcare funding will be allocated.
“We have read that the Federal Government plans to expend a whopping $1.07bn in the primary health sector. This amount is in addition to the N2.48tn earlier proposed for the health sector in the initial budget draft,” he said.
Atiku insisted that Nigerians deserve full disclosure on the funding details, including the sources of loans and a policy framework outlining how the funds will be spent.
