Amaechi Raises Fresh Questions Over Drug Costs, Healthcare Under Tinubu
By Akin Alade
Former Rivers State Governor and African Democratic Congress (ADC) vice-presidential candidate, Rotimi Amaechi, has reignited debate over the affordability of medicines and healthcare in Nigeria after linking the difficulty of purchasing drugs for his late mother to the economic policies of President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
Amaechi made the remarks during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today, where he criticised the rising cost of living and argued that the economic consequences of government reforms were being felt directly by households across the country.
The former Minister of Transportation said his mother was healthy before Tinubu assumed office but that the increasing cost of medicines subsequently made it difficult for his family to provide the drugs she required. He consequently linked her death to the economic circumstances created by the administration’s policies.
Amaechi’s comments have placed the issue of drug affordability in Nigeria at the centre of the renewed political debate over the impact of economic reforms, particularly the removal of the petrol subsidy and the wider effects of inflation and exchange-rate pressures on imported goods.
According to the ADC chieftain, the hardship is not limited to his family, arguing that many Nigerians are struggling to meet basic healthcare needs because of the increasing prices of medicines and other essential commodities.
He also questioned whether Nigerians are yet receiving sufficient benefits from the savings expected from petrol subsidy removal. Amaechi argued that the objective of the reform was ultimately to improve citizens’ welfare and said Nigerians should be able to feel the impact of the savings.
However, one of the figures cited by Amaechi requires caution. He reportedly attributed a claim of about ₦200 billion spent on drug imports in the last quarter to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). A subsequent fact-check found that the NBS had not released its Q3 2026 Foreign Trade in Goods Statistics at the time of verification, meaning the specific ₦200 billion figure could not then be independently confirmed.
Available NBS data cited by the fact-check showed that Nigeria recorded ₦14.42 trillion in total imports in the second quarter of 2026, with pharmaceutical products forming part of the country’s substantial import bill. The figures demonstrate the importance of imported medicines to the healthcare supply chain but do not, on their own, establish the ₦200 billion figure referenced by Amaechi.
The controversy therefore extends beyond the political exchange between Amaechi and the Tinubu administration to a broader question: how can Nigeria make essential medicines more affordable and reduce the vulnerability of healthcare costs to exchange-rate and import pressures?
Amaechi has remained a vocal critic of the Tinubu administration as political activities intensify ahead of the 2027 general election. His latest comments have consequently added healthcare affordability to the growing list of economic issues likely to feature prominently in the political debate.
For the Federal Government, the continuing challenge will be demonstrating how its economic reforms are translating into improved purchasing power, affordable healthcare and better living conditions, while critics such as Amaechi continue to highlight the immediate pressures being experienced by households.
