The Tinubu Media Support Group (TMSG) has described as laughable, the advice by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar to the Federal Government to avoid snakes, termites and monkeys from tampering with the over $1 billion recently allocated to the health sector.
In a statement signed by its Chairman Emeka Nwankpa and Secretary Dapo Okubanjo, TMSG wondered how the former Vice President failed to realize he was only deriding his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) which subjected Nigerians to 16 locust years.
It said: “We find it strange and laughable that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar made such egregious allusions to snakes and monkeys while speaking on Federal Government’s record allocation of $1.07 billion in financing for healthcare sector reforms under the Human Capital Opportunities for Prosperity and Equity (HOPE).
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“It was clear that it was meant as a cheap potshot at the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led administration but the PDP Presidential candidate in the last election ended up deriding and mocking his own party for subjecting Nigerians to harrowing 16 locust years.
“We recall that it was under one of the governments led by the former ruling party that N36 million disappeared from a staff of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB). We recall that during investigations by the APC administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari, a civil servant made shocking claims that a snake swallowed the funds running into millions of naira.
“The fraud that happened before former President Buhari took office was undetected until 2016 when the then newly appointed JAMB registrar, Professor Ishaq Oloyede, ordered an audit of the government agency that remitted a paltry N50 million to government coffers in 7 years. An individual in a state office was found to have pocketed N36 million.
“And contrary to the impression which the former Vice President sought to create, Philomina Chieshe, the JAMB staff who made the claim was prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in the Buhari years.
“So what the former Vice President did was to again remind Nigerians of his party’s predilection to corruption and why it should never be considered as an option in coming elections.
“We dare say that former Vice President Atiku is the most unqualified to sermonize on probity, he’s the worst person to advise President Tinubu’s administration on transparent utilization of funds for sundry reasons in the public domain.
“Besides, a government that commits to spending more than any previous administrations on the health sector managed by a globally recognized minster, Professor Muhammad Ali Pate deserves commendation and not Atiku”s snide comments.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the federal government has also allocated N2.48 trillion to the health sector in the 2025 budget proposal. This is nearly N1 trillion more than the N1.502 trillion set aside for the 2024 budget and more than double the N1.17 trillion in the 2023 spending plan.”
The group urged Professor Ali Pate and the leadership of the health ministry to ensure that the effect of the record allocation on the sector is well felt by Nigerians.
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