Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has called on President Bola Tinubu to explain how funds saved from the removal of petrol subsidy have been utilised, following renewed threats of industrial action by the Academic Staff Union of Universities.
Atiku, in a statement issued on Sunday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, questioned why public universities were still grappling with funding challenges despite the Federal Government’s claim that the removal of subsidy would free up resources for critical sectors.
The statement comes after ASUU warned that it could resume its suspended nationwide strike over unresolved agreements, unpaid obligations and other issues affecting its members.
The former vice president argued that the renewed threat of industrial action raised questions about the Federal Government’s justification for removing the petrol subsidy, particularly as public universities continued to face infrastructure gaps and unresolved labour disputes.
According to him, Nigerians had endured significant economic hardship following the policy and were entitled to know how the additional revenues generated had been deployed.
“Subsidy removal was presented to Nigerians as a painful but necessary reform that would free resources for critical sectors, including education, healthcare, infrastructure and social welfare,” Atiku said.
“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?”
He accused the Tinubu administration of failing to deliver the benefits it promised Nigerians following the removal of the subsidy regime.
Atiku, who is the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, also questioned claims that increased revenues from subsidy removal had led to higher allocations to state governments.
He asked why the education sector had yet to witness improvements commensurate with the reported increase in public revenues.
“If substantially more money is supposedly flowing to the states, why has the condition of public education not improved accordingly?” he asked.
The former vice president said the Federal Government should provide a transparent account of the resources generated since the removal of the petrol subsidy and explain how such funds had been utilised.
He argued that the government could not continue to demand sacrifices from Nigerians without demonstrating tangible improvements in critical sectors.
“A government cannot keep taking from the people, returning excuses and loans, and calling that reform,” Atiku said.
“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.”
Atiku also accused the administration of placing a heavier burden on ordinary Nigerians while allegedly extending concessions and privileges to influential interests.
He said workers, students and families had continued to bear the consequences of economic reforms, while the expected improvements in social services had not been fully realised.
“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.
“But when powerful and well-connected interests come knocking, government always appears capable of finding concessions, waivers and privileges.”
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He maintained that Nigerians deserved an explanation on the management of subsidy-related savings, insisting that the sacrifices made by citizens had not yet translated into the promised benefits.
Atiku also expressed concern over the continued disruption of academic activities in public universities and the broader challenges facing the education sector.
He said increased government revenues should be reflected in improved classrooms, laboratories, hostels and other learning facilities.
“You cannot boast about record allocations while students sit at home because lecturers are on strike,” he said.
“You cannot celebrate higher revenues when classrooms, laboratories, hostels and teaching facilities remain inadequate.”
The former vice president added that the challenges were not limited to federal universities, noting that several state-owned institutions had also experienced industrial disputes and interruptions to academic activities.
He further criticised the rising cost of university education, arguing that the removal of fuel subsidy had contributed to a broader increase in the cost of living for Nigerian families.
“This government removed subsidy, increased the cost of transportation, food and virtually every other necessity, and watched the cost of university education rise beyond the reach of many families,” he said.
Atiku also criticised the Federal Government’s student loan scheme, arguing that the policy was being used to assist students facing financial difficulties partly worsened by rising living and education costs.
He questioned the approach of providing loans to students at a time when many families were struggling to afford the increasing cost of tertiary education.
The former vice president also raised concerns about the capacity of Nigerian universities to accommodate the country’s growing youth population.
He questioned whether adequate investments had been made in classrooms, laboratories, hostels and other facilities required to expand access to higher education.
The Federal Government ended the petrol subsidy regime shortly after President Tinubu assumed office on May 29, 2023, arguing that the policy had become financially unsustainable and that funds previously spent on subsidising petrol could be redirected to critical areas of development.
However, the policy resulted in a sharp increase in petrol prices and contributed to rising transportation costs and broader inflationary pressures on households.
Government officials have since pointed to increased revenues and statutory allocations to the three tiers of government as among the outcomes of the policy.
ASUU’s latest warning has again drawn attention to the unresolved issues surrounding the funding of Nigeria’s public universities, lecturers’ welfare and the implementation of agreements reached between the union and successive governments.