Nigeria: Atiku demands answers over fuel subsidy savings

In a statement relayed by his communications adviser Phrank Shaibu, the former vice president said the reform had been presented as a way to free up additional resources for education, health and infrastructure. He said the continuing tensions at universities now warranted a public explanation of how the funds were allocated.

The Academic Staff Union of Universities warned on Friday that it could resume a nationwide strike if federal and state authorities do not quickly address several outstanding issues. Its president, Chris Piwuna, cited the incomplete implementation of the agreement reached in December 2025, the payment of three and a half months of still-withheld salaries, and the remittance of deductions made from lecturers’ pay.

Atiku Abubakar said households have already borne the cost of subsidy removal through higher fuel, transport and other everyday expenses. He called on the government to detail how much was actually saved and how the money was used, without citing a verified figure in his Sunday statement.

The dispute comes as campaigning for the 2027 presidential election is already under way. Atiku is on the final list of 18 candidates published by the Independent National Electoral Commission, giving his intervention a directly political dimension beyond the labour dispute at universities.

ASUU acknowledged that the Tinubu administration had paid four months of the seven and a half months of salaries withheld under the previous government. The union said, however, that three and a half months remain unpaid and that the December 2025 agreement has still not been fully implemented across several institutions.