Former Vice President and African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar has demanded the immediate publication of Nigeria’s health agreement with the United States, following President John Mahama’s disclosure that Ghana rejected a proposed compact over concerns about medical records, pathogen information, funding obligations and the inspection of imported medicines.

“At this point, Nigerians do not know whether the provisions Ghana rejected are in the agreement Tinubu signed,” Mr Abubakar said in a statement issued by Phrank Shaibu, director of strategic communication of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council. 

“That is precisely why the government must publish the full text. Nigerians should not have to guess what has been agreed in their name,” he added.

Nigeria signed its 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 committed to health spending projected to mobilise nearly $3 billion over five years.

Mr Abubakar said those commitments must be measured against the condition of healthcare at home. The latest internationally comparable estimates put Nigeria’s maternal deaths at 75,000 in 2023, the highest total in the world.

“Every one of those deaths represents a woman whose family expected her to come home,” he said. “This crisis did not begin under Tinubu, but he has had more than three years to show Nigerians how his government is making childbirth safer. Where are the results?”

Mr Abubakar also questioned how the administration would fulfil its domestic funding commitments when approved health projects have struggled to receive funds. Health Minister Professor Muhammad Ali Pate told lawmakers that, at the time of his budget defence, only ₦36 million had been released from the ₦218 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,” he said. “A signed partnership cannot staff a maternity ward, supply a hospital or save a woman in labour. Nigerians need to see the funding and the care.”

He called on the federal government to publish the complete memorandum of understanding, together with every related protocol, annex, data-sharing arrangement, specimen-sharing agreement and financial undertaking.

“Can Nigerians’ medical information or pathogen samples leave the country? Who may access them? What safeguards protect patients? Does NAFDAC retain full authority to inspect medicines and medical products? What exactly have the federal government and the states promised to spend? Tinubu should put the documents before Nigerians and answer these questions plainly,” he said.

Mr Abubakar said Nigeria welcomes international cooperation that saves lives, but the government must be accountable for the terms it accepts and the results it delivers. The same duty of disclosure, he added, applies to the administration’s other international commitments, including its expanding partnership with France.

“Ghana examined the proposal before it and said no. Nigeria has already signed. Tinubu must now tell Nigerians exactly what he said yes to. Nigeria’s sovereignty is not classified information,” he added.

Signed:

PHRANK SHAIBU
Director, Strategic Communication
ADC Presidential Campaign Council.

29th September 2026