Atiku Abubakar, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, has demanded an account of the billions of naira saved from fuel subsidy removal, asking the federal government to explain why the education sector remains mired in funding and welfare crises as university lecturers threaten another nationwide strike.
Atiku said the renewed Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) strike threat has exposed a widening gap between the government’s justification for removing subsidy and the relief and public services Nigerians were promised in return for enduring higher fuel prices and worsening living costs.
Atiku, in a statement by Phrank Shaibu, his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, said the looming ASUU strike exposed the failure of the administration to deliver on its justification for subsidy removal.
‘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.
The former vice president spoke against the backdrop of ASUU’s renewed threat to embark on a nationwide strike ‘within the shortest time possible’ unless the government addresses outstanding issues affecting university lecturers.
Chris Piwuna, ASUU president, said the decision followed an emergency meeting of the union’s National Executive Council at the University of Abuja. Piwuna accused the federal and state governments of failing to fully implement the December 2025 agreement reached with the union.
ASUU also raised concerns over deductions for pension contributions, staff cooperative societies and check-off dues, which it said had allegedly not been remitted for several months.
Atiku said the renewed university crisis contradicted the federal government’s justification for removing fuel subsidy, arguing that Nigerians had endured higher petrol prices, transport fares, food costs, energy bills and school fees on the promise that subsidy savings would be redirected to education, healthcare, infrastructure and other essential services.
‘The house of cards of falsehoods erected by the Tinubu administration to justify the suffering of Nigerians is collapsing before our eyes. A government that strips citizens of relief, denies them meaningful social protection and fails to deliver the basic improvements it promised has forfeited the moral credibility to continue preaching sacrifice,’ he added.
Atiku also questioned the claim that subsidy savings had resulted in increased allocations to state governments, asking why the condition of public education had not improved despite the reported increase in revenues.
‘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.
‘You cannot boast about record allocations while students sit at home because lecturers are on strike.You cannot celebrate higher revenues when classrooms, laboratories, hostels and teaching facilities remain inadequate,’he added.
The former vice president also criticised the administration’s student loan scheme, arguing that the government had increased the cost of living and education before introducing loans to help students cope with the resulting financial burden.
He further accused the administration of being more willing to grant concessions, waivers and privileges to powerful interests than to provide relief for ordinary Nigerians.