Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has publicly challenged President Bola Tinubu to account for the proceeds of the fuel subsidy removal, asserting that ordinary Nigerians have paid the full cost through soaring prices without receiving the promised improvements in public services.
In a statement issued through his aide, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku pointed to the looming Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) strike as evidence that subsidy savings never reached the education sector. The statement was made available to Legit.ng on Sunday, September 13, 2026.
Atiku: Subsidy Savings and the Education Question
Atiku argued that the government sold the subsidy removal policy to Nigerians on the explicit promise that the freed-up money would be invested in education, healthcare, and infrastructure. More than three years on, he said, lecturers are still raising concerns about unpaid salaries, ASUU is again warning of industrial action, and university facilities remain woefully inadequate.
He also pushed back on government claims that subsidy savings have flowed to state governments through larger allocations, questioning why the quality of public education at the state level has not improved alongside those figures.
"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," Atiku said.
NELFUND and the 'Vicious Circle' Argument
The former presidential candidate also turned his criticism on the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), which the government has promoted as a solution for students struggling to afford university fees. He argued the scheme is hollow because it was the government's own economic decisions that pushed those fees beyond reach in the first place.
"What kind of reform first empties a family's pocket and then offers the child a loan to survive the hardship government helped create? That is not progress. It is a vicious circle of government-manufactured poverty," he said.
Atiku added that the problem is sharpened by Nigeria's growing youth population, which is producing more university applicants every year without any corresponding expansion in campus infrastructure, admission spaces, or teaching facilities.
Direct Question to the President
He closed with a direct question to the president: "The sacrifice has been collected from Nigerians in full. The promised benefits have not been delivered in full. So President Tinubu must answer the question that will not go away: where is the money?"
Meanwhile, Legit.ng also reported that INEC filed a counter-affidavit asking the Federal High Court in Abuja to dismiss Atiku's suit over Tinubu's certificates. The electoral body argued that Atiku lacked the legal standing to bring the case and that the suit amounted to an abuse of court process.
Atiku alleged in a 25-paragraph affidavit that Tinubu submitted a forged NYSC certificate to INEC as far back as the 1999 Lagos governorship election. The legal proceedings continue as the political debate over subsidy savings intensifies.
