Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has criticised the Federal Government over the renewed threat by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to embark on a nationwide strike, demanding an explanation on how funds saved from the removal of fuel subsidy have been utilised.
Atiku said the latest development exposed what he described as the failure of the Bola Tinubu administration to fulfil its promise that savings from subsidy removal would be redirected to critical sectors, particularly education.
In a statement issued on Sunday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, the former vice-president questioned what had happened to the funds Nigerians were told would be freed following the removal of the petrol subsidy.
“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’s comments followed ASUU’s renewed threat to commence a nationwide strike over unresolved issues affecting the welfare of university lecturers.
ASUU President, Chris Piwuna, had on Friday announced that the union could embark on industrial action “within the shortest time possible” unless the government takes immediate steps to address its grievances.
Piwuna disclosed that the decision was reached at an emergency meeting of the union’s National Executive Council held at the University of Abuja.
According to him, the Federal and state governments had failed to fully implement the agreement reached with the union in December 2025.
The union also raised concerns over deductions for pension contributions, staff cooperative societies and check-off dues, alleging that some of the deductions had not been remitted for several months.
Reacting to the development, Atiku said the renewed university crisis contradicted the justification given by the government for removing the fuel subsidy.
He argued that Nigerians had endured increased petrol prices, transportation costs, food prices, energy bills and education expenses on the understanding that savings from subsidy removal would be channelled into sectors that directly affect citizens.
“The house of cards of falsehoods erected by the Tinubu administration to justify the suffering of Nigerians is collapsing before our eyes,” he said.
“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.”
Atiku also questioned the government’s repeated claims that subsidy savings had resulted in increased allocations to state governments.
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He asked why public education remained in poor condition if substantially more funds were being made available to states.
“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.
He argued that increased government revenues should translate into better educational infrastructure and uninterrupted academic activities.
“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, the Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), arguing that the government had first contributed to making education and living expenses more expensive before providing loans to help students cope with the increased burden.
“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,” Atiku said.
“After helping to make education more expensive, the same government created NELFUND and now celebrates giving young Nigerians loans to pay fees that many of their parents can no longer comfortably afford.”
He described the situation as “government-manufactured poverty,” accusing the administration of imposing greater economic hardship on citizens without delivering corresponding improvements in public services.
Atiku further alleged that the government had shown greater willingness to provide concessions, waivers and privileges to powerful interests than to offer meaningful relief to ordinary Nigerians.
According to him, the renewed ASUU crisis demonstrates that the removal of fuel subsidy has neither eliminated recurring industrial disputes in the university system nor produced the improvements in public services that Nigerians were promised.
“Tinubu removed subsidy from the people, but he has not removed the threat of ASUU strikes,” Atiku said.
“He has not resolved the crisis of unpaid obligations. He has not sufficiently expanded our universities. He has not made education more affordable. And he certainly has not removed the hardship confronting Nigerian families.”
The latest dispute between ASUU and the government comes amid continuing concerns over the funding, welfare and infrastructure of Nigeria’s public universities, with repeated industrial actions in the sector having disrupted academic calendars over the years.
Atiku’s comments are likely to intensify the political debate over the economic consequences of subsidy removal and whether the savings from the policy have translated into tangible improvements in the lives of Nigerians.