Former Vice President and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has called on the Federal Government to publish the full text of Nigeria’s health agreement with the United States.
Atiku made the call in a statement issued on Tuesday by the Director of Strategic Communication of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council, Phrank Shaibu.
He said the call became necessary following disclosure by Ghanaian President John Mahama that Ghana rejected a proposed health compact over concerns about medical records, pathogen information, funding obligations and inspection of imported medicines.
“At this point, Nigerians do not know whether provisions Ghana rejected are in the agreement Tinubu signed. That is precisely why government must publish the full text. Nigerians should not have to guess what has been agreed in their name,” Atiku said.
Nigeria signed a five-year health Memorandum of Understanding with the United States on 19 December 2025. According to the Federal Ministry of Health, it covers disease surveillance, health data systems and procedures involving pathogen samples. The United States is expected to provide nearly $2 billion in grants, while Nigeria has made health spending commitments projected to mobilise nearly $3 billion over five years.
Atiku said the commitments must be measured against the condition of healthcare at home, noting that the latest internationally comparable estimates put Nigeria’s maternal deaths at 75,000 in 2023.
He also questioned how the administration would fulfil domestic funding commitments, referencing disclosure by the Minister of Health, Prof Muhammad Ali Pate, that at the time of his budget defence, only N36 million had been released from N218 billion appropriated for capital projects and programmes at the Ministry of Health headquarters in 2025.
“A government that cannot release funds for approved health projects must explain how it intends to honour a multibillion-dollar commitment,” Atiku said.
He called on the Federal Government to publish the complete Memorandum of Understanding, together with related protocols, annexes, data-sharing arrangements, specimen-sharing agreements and financial undertakings.
He asked whether Nigerians’ medical information or pathogen samples can leave the country, who may access them, what safeguards protect patients, whether NAFDAC retains full authority to inspect medicines and medical products, and what the Federal and state governments have promised to spend.
Atiku said Nigeria welcomes international cooperation that saves lives, but the government must be accountable for the terms it accepts and the results it delivers, adding that the same duty of disclosure applies to other international commitments, including the partnership with France.
Credit: Nigerian Tribune