Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has criticised the Presidency’s defence of President Bola Tinubu’s performance in the health and education sectors, insisting that the administration’s claims do not reflect the realities facing millions of Nigerians.

 

Atiku, in a statement signed by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, said the success of any government should be measured by the quality of life of its citizens rather than the number of projects commissioned or programmes announced.

 

Speaking on healthcare, the former vice president argued that improved infrastructure alone cannot be used as proof of progress if Nigerians are unable to access affordable and quality medical services.

 

“The Presidency speaks proudly of revitalised primary healthcare centres, cancer treatment facilities and free caesarean sections. These initiatives are welcome where they genuinely exist and function. But they cannot conceal the broader reality confronting millions of Nigerians,” he said.

 

According to Atiku, the Federal Government’s own budget implementation record contradicts its claims of transforming the health sector. He said the Federal Ministry of Health informed the National Assembly during the 2025 budget implementation review that only ₦36 million had been released to the ministry under the 2025 Appropriation Act.

 

“That is not the testimony of the opposition; it is the official position of the government itself. A government that has released such a paltry sum to its health ministry can hardly claim to be leading a healthcare revolution,” he stated.

 

The former vice president also questioned the administration’s claims of improving maternal healthcare, noting that Nigeria still ranks among countries with the highest maternal mortality burden globally.

 

He said maternal mortality estimates of between 993 and 1,047 deaths per 100,000 live births place Nigeria alongside countries such as South Sudan and Chad on one of the world’s worst health indicators.

 

“A government should not measure success by the number of programmes it announces but by the number of mothers who survive childbirth. Until Nigeria ceases to be one of the most dangerous places in the world for a woman to give birth, self-congratulation on maternal healthcare is both premature and insensitive,” Atiku said.

 

He added that despite the government’s claims of reforms, many Nigerians continue to bear the burden of paying for healthcare from their personal income while medical professionals continue to leave the country in search of better opportunities.

 

“The ordinary Nigerian is asking a far simpler question: Can I afford to see a doctor? Can I buy prescribed medicines? Can I obtain quality treatment without selling my property or borrowing money?” he asked.

 

He further stated, “No healthcare system can be declared a success while hospitals continue to lose skilled professionals, patients struggle to afford treatment, and those who can afford it, including senior public officials, still seek medical attention abroad.”

 

On education, Atiku dismissed the Presidency’s reliance on the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) as evidence of educational reform, arguing that student loans alone cannot address the challenges confronting the sector.

 

“Helping students finance higher education is commendable. But student loans alone do not constitute education reform,” he said.

 

According to him, millions of Nigerian children remain out of school, while insecurity continues to disrupt learning in many communities. He also cited poor working conditions for teachers and inadequate educational infrastructure as major issues requiring urgent attention.

 

“Education begins long before university. Millions of Nigerian children remain out of school. Many schools, particularly in conflict-affected communities, operate under the constant threat of kidnapping and violence. Teachers continue to face poor working conditions, while educational infrastructure remains inadequate across many parts of the country,” he stated.

 

Atiku maintained that the absence of prolonged university strikes should not be presented as the sole indicator of progress in the education sector.

 

“The success of an education system is not measured by whether students can borrow money. It is measured by whether they receive quality education that prepares them for productive lives in a growing economy,” he added.

 

The former vice president also criticised what he described as the Presidency’s continued effort to blame previous administrations, particularly the government of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, for Nigeria’s present economic and governance challenges.

 

He said President Tinubu had spent more than three years in office and should take responsibility for his administration’s performance rather than attributing current problems to governments that left office nearly two decades ago.

 

“President Tinubu has now been in office for more than three years. By the end of his tenure, the Obasanjo administration would have been out of office for over two decades. No serious government can continue blaming an administration that left office 19 years ago for its inability to deliver on its own promises,” Atiku said.

 

He added, “Leadership is about accepting responsibility, not recycling excuses. Every administration inherits challenges. Great administrations solve them; they do not weaponise them as permanent alibis.”

 

Defending the Obasanjo administration in which he served as vice president, Atiku highlighted what he described as landmark reforms implemented during the period, including the Paris Club debt relief deal worth about $18 billion, banking sector consolidation, liberalisation of the telecommunications industry, pension reforms, the establishment of the Excess Crude Account, anti-corruption reforms and the privatisation of state-owned enterprises.

 

According to him, those reforms attracted investment, created jobs, restored confidence in the economy and laid the foundation for subsequent administrations.

 

“History records those achievements. They cannot be erased by political convenience,” he said.

 

Atiku further described it as ironic that an administration which, according to him, had accumulated unprecedented debt within just over three years was criticising previous governments on issues of fiscal responsibility.

 

He maintained that governments should ultimately be assessed by their ability to solve national problems rather than justify their shortcomings.

 

“Governments should be judged by the problems they solve, not by the number of excuses they manufacture. If, after more than three years in office, this administration is still looking backwards for explanations instead of forward for solutions, then it has already admitted the poverty of its own record,” he stated.