Amaechi Links Mother’s Death to Rising Cost of Medicines Under Tinubu

Former Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi has criticised the economic situation in Nigeria, saying the rising cost of medicines made it increasingly difficult for him to provide healthcare for his late mother.

Amaechi made the remarks during an interview while discussing the impact of the country’s economic difficulties on families and access to essential healthcare.

The former governor said his mother was in good health before President Bola Tinubu assumed office and rejected the suggestion that her death could simply be explained by her age.

“My mother was healthy!” Amaechi said during the interview, explaining that he had made efforts to ensure she received the care she needed.

He said the increasing price of medication became a significant challenge in providing that care, linking the difficulty to the broader rise in the cost of living under the current administration.

Amaechi’s mother, Mary Amaechi, died in July 2026 at the age of 89. Her family described her as a respected community and Christian leader. 

Using his personal experience to illustrate the wider economic situation, Amaechi argued that many Nigerian families are facing similar difficulties in paying for medicines and other basic healthcare needs.

He also questioned Nigeria’s continued dependence on imported pharmaceutical and other finished products, citing figures he attributed to the National Bureau of Statistics.

According to Amaechi, Nigeria spent about ₦200 billion importing drugs in the last quarter, while 40 per cent of finished goods were imported.

The figures could not be independently established from the NBS material located for this report, and are therefore presented as figures cited by Amaechi.

The issue of medicine affordability has remained part of Nigeria’s wider cost-of-living debate. Previous reporting has documented substantial increases in the prices of several commonly used medicines, while the Federal Government has introduced measures aimed at encouraging local pharmaceutical production and reducing dependence on imported healthcare products. 

The Federal Government has also said its healthcare reforms include efforts to expand local manufacturing and reduce Nigeria’s reliance on imported medicines, diagnostics and medical devices. 

Amaechi’s comments therefore place his personal experience with his mother’s healthcare within his broader criticism of the economic direction of the Tinubu administration.

Peter Obi: Despite 13-Month Doctors’ Strike, No Mass Deaths Were Recorded in Anambra

 

Former Anambra State Governor and NDC presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has defended his administration’s handling of a 13-month doctors’ strike during his tenure, saying the prolonged industrial action did not result in mass deaths in the state.

Obi made the claim while speaking at the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) conference in Rivers State, where he discussed the condition of Anambra’s healthcare system when he assumed office and the measures his administration took to improve it.

According to Obi, the state faced significant gaps in healthcare infrastructure at the time, including a lack of accredited schools of nursing and teaching hospitals.

“Doctors were on strike for 13 months and the only thing the doctors have never said is why they went on strike,” Obi said.

He recalled that when he became governor, Anambra had no accredited school of nursing, while the state university did not have a teaching hospital and some hospitals were not accredited.

“There was no single school of nursing accredited and university did not have a teaching hospital and hospitals were not accredited,” he said.

Obi said his administration initially invested in general hospitals but later changed its approach after encountering challenges with the system.

He explained that the government began working with agencies and church-owned institutions, providing funding to support healthcare delivery.

“So I decided after several months to deal with our doctors, so I put money in general hospital, then they transferred it somewhere else. Then I decided I’m going to work with the agencies, schools owned by the churches and I started funding them, then they started saying I’m supporting private sectors,” he said.

Defending his administration’s position during the dispute, Obi questioned the effect of the doctors’ prolonged absence on the state’s healthcare system.

“We had a disagreement. If the doctors were very effective, in 13 months there was no mass death, that means something is missing because after 13 months we are still alive and they were on strike,” he said.

The former governor maintained that the decisions taken by his administration eventually produced lasting improvements in Anambra’s healthcare sector.

He pointed to the growth in nursing education and the establishment of teaching hospitals as some of the outcomes of his approach.

“Go to Anambra State today, we have the highest numbers of schools of nursing, we have three teaching hospitals because of that decision I took,” Obi said.

Obi’s comments come as the 2027 presidential campaign gathers momentum, with candidates increasingly highlighting their records in public office as they seek to convince Nigerians of their capacity to govern.