‘Safe Schools On Paper, Empty Classrooms In Reality’ — Atiku Challenges Tinubu Over ₦144.86bn Programme

• Atiku says the closure of schools across about 40 local government areas exposes the failure of the Tinubu administration’s ₦144.86 billion Safe Schools Programme despite massive public spending.

• The ADC presidential candidate demands a full audit of the initiative, including funds released, contractors engaged, schools covered, security infrastructure delivered, and measurable results.

• Former vice president proposes a decentralised, intelligence-led school security model, insisting communities must become the first line of defence against attacks on schools.

• Atiku argues that allowing terrorists and bandits to determine whether children attend school amounts to a dangerous erosion of state authority and public confidence.

August 11, () — Former Vice President and Presidential Candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has faulted the Tinubu administration over the continued closure of schools in parts of the country due to insecurity, declaring that the Federal Government’s ₦144.86 billion National Plan on Financing Safe Schools has failed its most fundamental objective of keeping Nigerian children in classrooms.

Atiku said reports indicating that schools across about 40 local government areas have been shut because of attacks by terrorists, bandits, and other armed groups represent a damning verdict on the government’s handling of school security, despite the huge public resources committed to the Safe Schools Programme.

In a statement issued on Tuesday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, the former vice president questioned how such a substantial intervention fund could coexist with widespread school closures driven by insecurity.

“At a time when Nigeria is already battling a severe out-of-school crisis, insecurity is driving even more children from the classroom.

“If schools across about 40 local government areas cannot operate because the government cannot guarantee the safety of pupils and teachers, Nigerians are entitled to ask a simple question: where is the ₦144.86 billion Safe Schools programme in all of this?” he said.

According to Atiku, the government cannot measure success by budgetary allocations or policy announcements while children remain unable to access education safely.

He said,

“Budgeting money is not the same thing as securing schools. Announcing programmes is not the same thing as protecting children. The true measure of a Safe Schools programme is whether our children can actually go to school safely. By that elementary test, the present approach is failing.”

Demands Full Disclosure Of Safe Schools Spending

The ADC presidential candidate called on President Bola Tinubu’s administration to publish a comprehensive breakdown of the Safe Schools Programme, including the total amount released, implementing agencies, contractors that received payments, schools covered, security facilities installed, and measurable outcomes achieved since the initiative commenced.

He maintained that Nigerians deserve transparency over every naira committed to protecting schoolchildren, especially as insecurity continues to disrupt learning across several parts of the country.

Atiku argued that financial accountability alone would not address the underlying security failures.

Outlining what he described as an alternative approach, the ADC presidential candidate said his administration would abandon what he termed an Abuja-centred contract system in favour of a decentralised, intelligence-driven security framework anchored on local communities.

He pledged to establish functional early-warning and rapid-response systems around vulnerable schools, strengthen intelligence sharing among schools, host communities, and security agencies, and develop specific emergency-response plans for institutions identified as high-risk.

“What Nigeria requires is a completely different security philosophy. Under my administration, school security will not be treated as another Abuja contract-awarding programme. It will be integrated into a decentralised, intelligence-led security architecture built around the communities where these schools actually exist,” he said.

According to him, residents often detect suspicious movements long before security agencies receive formal intelligence.

He stated, “Local communities know their terrain. They know when unfamiliar people enter their communities and often see the warning signs before Abuja does. Our security architecture will make that local intelligence part of the national response rather than leaving communities helpless until an attack has already occurred.”

He further promised that every expenditure on school security would be tied to measurable outcomes.

He said, “Nigerians will know which schools have been protected, what infrastructure has been provided, who is responsible for maintaining it, and which security formations are accountable for responding when threats arise.

“Safe Schools will be measured by children in classrooms, not billions in government documents.”

Atiku warned that the consequences of insecurity extend far beyond education, arguing that every school forced to close exposes more children to poverty, child labour, early marriage, exploitation, and recruitment by criminal and extremist groups.

He said safeguarding schools should be viewed as a critical component of Nigeria’s broader national security strategy.

“Every school that closes creates another opening for poverty, child labour, early marriage, exploitation, and radicalisation. Every child driven from the classroom becomes more vulnerable to the same criminal and extremist networks the government claims to be fighting. Protecting education is therefore itself a national security strategy,” he stated.

The former vice president cited recent attacks on schools in Borno State as evidence that the current strategy is failing.

He referred to reports that 36 students and a staff member of Government Day Secondary School, Lassa, in Askira/Uba Local Government Area were abducted by gunmen during examinations in late June, while 42 pupils reportedly remain missing following the May 15 attack in Mussa.

“When terrorists can decide whether Nigerian children go to school, they are exercising authority that belongs to the Nigerian state. That is not merely an education crisis. It is a surrender of state authority,” he said.

Atiku also questioned repeated assurances by the Federal Government that it possesses intelligence on the locations of terrorist groups.

“And since Mr President says his government knows the forests where these kidnappers and terrorists operate, Nigerians are entitled to ask: what exactly are they still doing there?” he asked.

He urged the President to deploy security forces to rescue the abducted children and dismantle the criminal camps.

He said, “These are not statistics. They are Nigerian children who should be sitting in classrooms, writing examinations, and planning their futures—not names on an endless list of the missing. Every additional day they remain in captivity is another indictment of a government that claims to know where the criminals are but has yet to bring the children home.”

Atiku said his proposed security framework would focus on securing communities, empowering local intelligence, protecting vulnerable schools, ensuring rapid responses to threats, and accounting for every naira spent.

He stated, “A government cannot announce billions for Safe Schools and expect Nigerians to applaud its failure while terrorists are shutting the schools. Budgetary allocations are not achievements. Press conferences do not protect children. The only result that matters is that a Nigerian child can leave home for school and return safely.

“Nigeria cannot educate its way out of poverty if terrorists are allowed to lock the classroom door. Under our government, criminals will not determine when Nigerian schools open.”

Background

The National Plan on Financing Safe Schools (2023–2026) was introduced by the Federal Government to strengthen security around educational institutions following repeated attacks on schools, particularly in northern Nigeria, where terrorists and bandits have carried out mass abductions of students and teachers.

The programme, valued at ₦144.86 billion, was designed to improve school security infrastructure, emergency preparedness, intelligence coordination, and rapid response mechanisms.

However, persistent attacks, fresh kidnappings, and reports of school closures in several states have continued to fuel concerns over the programme’s effectiveness.

As of the time of filing this report, the Presidency had not officially responded to Atiku’s latest statement.