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Atiku Cautions Against Wild Beasts Swallowing Nigeria’s 2025 Budget
The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Nigeria’s 2023 election, Atiku Abubakar has cautioned against wild animals swallowing the 2025 budgetary allocations to critical sectors.
Atiku, who was Nigeria’s Vice President from 1999-2007 bared his mind in a statement in Abuja, on Sunday, in which he cited instances and cautioned against a repeat, particularly in the health sector.
He observed that “In recent years, there have been bizarre claims of animals being held accountable for missing public funds.”
With that concern, Atiku pointed out that “To this end, the Federal Government has to be deliberate about putting mechanisms in place for public audit and accountability in its US$1.07 billion budgetary appropriation in the health sector.”
He expressed his concerns under the subject, ‘2025 Budget: Snakes, termites, monkeys must not swallow $1.07 billion earmarked for health, Atiku warns’.
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The statement reads, “Former Vice President of Nigeria Atiku Abubakar has warned that claims of animals such as snakes, termites, gorillas and monkeys swallowing public funds must never be the fate of the funds budgeted for the critical sector of health in the 2025 Budget.
“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.
“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.
“To this end, the Federal Government has to be deliberate about putting mechanisms in place for public audit and accountability in its US$1.07 billion budgetary appropriation in the health sector.
“The former Vice President specifically queries the Federal Government for not providing comprehensive information on how it plans to expend the over one billion dollars in the primary health sector.
“Atiku noted that while healthcare, especially the primary sector deserves rapid investment in order to promote access to quality and affordable health services to Nigerians, it will be immoral of the government not to provide extensive details of how the money allotted for the purpose would be dispensed.
“We have read that the Federal Government has a plan to expend a whooping sum of $1.07 billion in the primary health sector. This amount is in addition to the N2.48 trillion, which had earlier been proposed for the health sector in the initial draft of the budget.
“This development gets even more troubling when the government equally announced that the $1.07 billion it is adding to the health sector at the sub-national level was mainly sourced through foreign loans and a fraction of it being provided through an international donor agency.
“In other words, Nigeria is expected to pay these loans back and it is required that the Nigerian people know the details of these loans and that its expenditure must be conveyed in a policy envelop that will explain how it will be spent,” Atiku noted.
He says further that the failure of the Federal Government not to commit to a single physical infrastructure in expending the budgetary provision smacks of fraud.
According to the government, “the funds will be directed towards improving governance in healthcare and enhancing primary healthcare services nationwide. This financing will support recruitment, training, and retention of healthcare workers and teachers at the sub-national level…”
For an administration that has been known to have a deficiency of trust in the administration of its humanitarian services, Nigerians cannot take the risk of accepting a shoddy explanation on a budgetary provision that lacks a mechanism of tracking how the money is to be expended.
It is difficult for Nigerians to believe this current Federal Government given its proclivity to alternative truths – especially on their claims about investments in the social infrastructure.
It is worrisome that the Tinubu administration continues to lie to Nigerians on the status of our tertiary hospitals when the sorry state of those hospitals lay bare for Nigerians to see.
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.
The major diseases in the primary health sector remain malaria, tuberculosis, and HIV/AIDS treatment.
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.
If the Tinubu administration fails to provide a comprehensive framework to safeguard its purported huge investment in the health sector nor subject the appropriations to the scrutiny of the National Assembly, it may be safe to conclude that this is another episode of the administration committing a fraud in the name of public interest.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited has disclosed its support for healthcare infrastructure in Sokoto State through the donation and subsequent handover of an Infectious Diseases Hospital (IDH) to the state government.
The development was contained in the company’s September 2026 Monthly Operations and Financial Report, which also highlighted its financial performance, oil and gas production, pipeline infrastructure and other operational activities.
According to the report, the Sokoto State Commissioner for Health visited the NNPC Foundation and NNPC Limited on September 1, 2026, to present a letter of appreciation to the Foundation for donating the Infectious Diseases Hospital and handing it over to the Sokoto State Government.
SEE MORE: Tinubu Promises to Boost Local Production with NNPC Refineries
The engagement provided an opportunity for the state government to formally acknowledge the Foundation’s intervention and support towards strengthening healthcare infrastructure in Sokoto State.
The report identified the engagement as part of the NNPC Foundation’s public impact initiatives.
NNPC Records ₦509bn September Profit
On its financial performance, NNPC recorded a profit after tax of ₦509 billion in September 2026, representing an 18.1 per cent increase compared with the previous month.
The company’s revenue also rose to ₦4.608 trillion from ₦3.74 trillion recorded in August, representing an increase of approximately 23.2 per cent.
Cumulative statutory payments to the Federation increased by 17.4 per cent, rising from ₦9.49 trillion between January and August to ₦11.14 trillion between January and September 2026.
Crude Oil and Gas Production
The report showed that average crude oil and condensate production stood at 1.70 million barrels per day during the period.
Natural gas production increased to 7,789 million standard cubic feet per day, while total hydrocarbon production reached 3.04 million barrels of oil equivalent per day.
The monthly operational summary also presented production and sales trends for crude oil, condensate and natural gas.
Pipeline Infrastructure Records Progress
On infrastructure development, NNPC reported 100 per cent availability of its upstream pipelines.
The company also disclosed that the Obiafu-Obrikom-Oben (OB3) Gas Pipeline had reached 100 per cent completion, while the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) Gas Pipeline stood at 95 per cent completion.
According to the report, the OB3 River Niger Crossing pipeline had been commissioned and operationalised.
For the AKK pipeline, NNPC said sustained collaboration with stakeholders was helping to accelerate construction and pre-commissioning activities towards achieving early gas delivery to Abuja in 2026.
NNPC Reports 54% Retail Station Availability
The report also highlighted the availability of petrol at NNPC retail stations across the country, putting the nationwide Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) availability level at 54 per cent.
A geographical map showing retail station availability across different parts of Nigeria was included in the monthly operational summary.
NNPC Outlines Strategic Production Efforts
On efforts to sustain production growth, NNPC listed accelerated restoration of shut-in wells and facilities, production optimisation and well interventions among its priorities.
The company also highlighted efforts to strengthen facility reliability and preventive maintenance, address infrastructure and operational constraints, improve community engagement and resolve storage, tank-top and export infrastructure challenges.
These measures, according to the report, are aimed at sustaining production growth and improving operational efficiency across its oil and gas assets.
Former General Secretary of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), John Ejoha Odah, has urged the Federal Government to develop a comprehensive employment strategy that provides jobs for young Nigerians before they graduate from educational institutions.
Odah said the government must adopt proactive employment planning by projecting the number of graduates expected to enter the labour market annually and making adequate arrangements to absorb them.
He made the call during an appearance on NTA’s Good Morning Nigeria on Wednesday, where he blamed the country’s persistent unemployment challenge on the failure of successive administrations to sustain national development plans.
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According to him, Nigeria’s political leadership has abandoned young people to their fate by failing to implement deliberate policies that create employment opportunities.
“The fundamental problem that we have in this country is the fact that our ruling elite have abandoned the Nigerian youth to their fate,” Odah said.
He explained that Nigeria previously operated five-year national development plans, which enabled the government to anticipate future employment needs and make arrangements for young people expected to graduate within two to five years.
The former NLC leader traced the worsening unemployment situation to the abandonment of national development plans between the late 1970s and 1985.
He also recalled the establishment of the National Directorate of Employment (NDE), explaining that the agency was created as a stopgap measure to provide employment and self-employment opportunities for young Nigerians.
Odah, however, stressed that the NDE was never intended to serve as the country’s primary driver of employment.
“What we need is a comprehensive employment scheme based on development programmes and industries,” he said.
He further disclosed that during his time in the labour movement, efforts were made to establish a national job summit involving the Ministry of Labour, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and other government institutions.
According to him, the initiative produced an employment plan presented to the National Executive Council, targeting the creation of at least four million jobs within four years across the federal, state and local governments.
Odah said the proposal was developed around 2005 but was abandoned after the administration under which it was initiated left office.
He expressed concern that Nigeria has yet to establish a coherent employment strategy capable of addressing the needs of young people entering the labour market.
The former labour leader warned that failure to address youth unemployment could further encourage social challenges, including irregular migration, as Nigerians continue to seek better opportunities abroad.
NEWS
Sanusi Lists Tinubu’s Economic Gains, Reveals What Could Restore Nigeria’s 2005 Living Standards
The Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, has highlighted improvements in Nigeria’s economic performance under President Bola Tinubu, saying the administration deserves credit for bringing the country back from the brink of economic collapse.
Sanusi made the remarks at the Oxford Global Think Tank conference, where he assessed the impact of the Tinubu administration’s economic reforms and acknowledged progress in key economic indicators.
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The former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) pointed to the country’s 4.48 per cent Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth in the second quarter of 2026, describing it as an improvement compared with the economic performance recorded during the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.
According to him, Nigeria’s economy grew by approximately 0.9 per cent during the Buhari years, while the latest growth figures indicate a stronger economic performance.
Sanusi also highlighted the decline in inflation, saying it had dropped from 30 per cent to 14.6 per cent, with projections indicating a possible reduction to 12.5 per cent by the end of 2026.
He further disclosed that Nigeria’s GDP per capita, measured in dollar terms, had increased by 47 per cent since 2023.
The Emir said sustaining the current growth trajectory could return the country’s GDP per capita to its 2005 level by the end of 2027.
“If we continue at this rate, by the end of next year, GDP per capita will be back to where it was in 2005,” he said.
On the country’s external reserves, Sanusi disclosed that they had reached $55 billion, although he cautioned that a significant portion of the inflows was driven by foreign portfolio investments, which he described as volatile.
He attributed some of the investor interest to high oil prices linked to the conflict around the Strait of Hormuz, alongside the attractive returns available in Nigeria’s financial market.
Sanusi also identified the Dangote Refinery as part of the country’s growing economic diversification, claiming that 20 per cent of Nigeria’s exports were coming from the facility.
According to him, the developments suggest that the country is laying the foundations for economic stability, although more work remains to be done.
“I’m not a fan of politicians, but we need to give credit to President Tinubu’s administration for bringing us back from the brink,” Sanusi stated.
He stressed that the progress recorded should be recognised as an initial step towards stability rather than an indication that Nigeria’s economic challenges have been fully resolved.
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