{"id":116317,"date":"2025-02-10T09:29:59","date_gmt":"2025-02-10T08:29:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?p=116317"},"modified":"2025-02-10T09:29:59","modified_gmt":"2025-02-10T08:29:59","slug":"2025-budget-snakes-termites-monkeys-must-not-swallow-1-07bn-earmarked-for-health-atiku","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/2025-budget-snakes-termites-monkeys-must-not-swallow-1-07bn-earmarked-for-health-atiku\/","title":{"rendered":"2025 Budget: Snakes, termites, monkeys must not swallow $1.07bn earmarked for health &#8211; Atiku"},"content":{"rendered":"<div dir=\"auto\" style=\"text-align: justify;\">Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has raised concerns over the allocation of $1.07 billion in the 2025 budget for the health sector, cautioning against the misuse of funds amid Nigeria\u2019s history of unaccounted public spending.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\" style=\"text-align: justify;\">Atiku emphasized that mechanisms must be put in place to ensure the funds are used to improve healthcare services rather than vanish under suspicious circumstances.<\/p>\n<p>Drawing on past bizarre claims that animals such as snakes, termites, and monkeys were responsible for the disappearance of public funds, Atiku warned that such narratives must not plague this critical budget. He called for a transparent and accountable framework to track how the allocated money is spent.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is critical that every kobo budgeted for the health sector is utilized effectively, especially in the face of dwindling resources and the withdrawal of international support in some areas of healthcare services,\u201d Atiku stated.<\/p><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\" style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u00a0He also criticized the Federal Government for failing to provide detailed plans on how it intends to use the $1.07 billion designated for primary healthcare, which comes in addition to the N2.48 trillion already proposed in the health budget.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">\nAtiku noted that the government has sourced a significant portion of the health sector funding from foreign loans, making it essential for Nigerians to understand how the borrowed money will be spent. \u201cThese funds must be expended transparently, with clear policies that explain their utilization,\u201d he argued.<\/p>\n<p>While the government claims the funds will support governance improvements, healthcare worker training, and recruitment, Atiku questioned the absence of a commitment to any specific infrastructure development. He described this as a red flag and accused the administration of failing to address the pressing needs of tertiary hospitals and primary healthcare facilities.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe state of our tertiary hospitals remains abysmal, with many lacking basic necessities such as a steady supply of electricity,\u201d Atiku said. He added that diseases like malaria, tuberculosis, and HIV\/AIDS\u2014key challenges in the primary healthcare sector\u2014require focused intervention, yet there is little clarity on how the new funds will address these issues.<\/p>\n<p>Atiku also criticized the Tinubu administration\u2019s response to the withdrawal of U.S. aid for HIV\/AIDS treatment, noting that the government allocated only N5 billion as a countermeasure. He accused the administration of misrepresenting the status of Nigeria\u2019s healthcare infrastructure and failing to prioritize the health of its citizens.<\/p>\n<p>The former vice president urged the Federal Government to provide a detailed framework for the use of the health sector budget and subject the appropriations to National Assembly scrutiny. \u201cIf this administration fails to demonstrate transparency and accountability, it risks being seen as committing fraud under the guise of public interest,\u201d Atiku warned.<\/p>\n<div class=\"yj6qo\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"adL\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Related Posts generic via filter on the_content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has raised concerns over the allocation of $1.07 billion in the 2025 budget for the health sector, cautioning against the misuse of funds amid Nigeria\u2019s&hellip;<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Related Posts generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":109206,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-116317","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>2025 Budget: Snakes, termites, monkeys must not swallow $1.07bn earmarked for health - Atiku - Pointblank News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/2025-budget-snakes-termites-monkeys-must-not-swallow-1-07bn-earmarked-for-health-atiku\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"2025 Budget: Snakes, termites, monkeys must not swallow $1.07bn earmarked for health - Atiku - Pointblank News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has raised concerns over the allocation of $1.07 billion in the 2025 budget for the health sector, cautioning against the misuse of funds amid Nigeria\u2019s&hellip;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/2025-budget-snakes-termites-monkeys-must-not-swallow-1-07bn-earmarked-for-health-atiku\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Pointblank News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-02-10T08:29:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Atiku-Abubakar-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"597\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"370\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Our Reporter\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Our Reporter\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/2025-budget-snakes-termites-monkeys-must-not-swallow-1-07bn-earmarked-for-health-atiku\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/2025-budget-snakes-termites-monkeys-must-not-swallow-1-07bn-earmarked-for-health-atiku\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Our Reporter\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#\/schema\/person\/ba61acbe7e8967bcf3f3ba603d9db23c\"},\"headline\":\"2025 Budget: Snakes, termites, monkeys must not swallow $1.07bn earmarked for health &#8211; 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