Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 general elections, has expressed deep concern over budgetary allocations, particularly in relation to the plight of the poor in Nigeria.
In a post on his X handle, Obi highlighted that the budget for the construction of a new residence for the Vice President is N15 billion, and the budget for the renovation of the National Assembly Complex is N30 billion, while Nigeria has 25 million homeless people.
He stated that Nigeria surpasses even the combined homeless populations of India and China, countries with populations more than twelve times that of Nigeria.
Additionally, Nigeria’s homeless population is more than two-and-a half times that of Bangladesh and the Philippines combined.
In his words: “In continuation of my concern for the budgetary allocations as it relates to the poor, I like to present the following for Nigerians to note; Budget for the construction of a new residence for the Vice President – N15 billion.
“Budget for the renovation of National Assembly Complex – N30 billion. The country with the highest number of homeless people – is Nigeria, with 25 million homeless people, higher than the total number of homeless people in India and China whose combined populations are over 12 times ours, and also higher than two and half the homeless population of Bangladesh and Philippines combined.
“We can follow the footsteps of Egypt, who have below 50% of the number of our homeless people, but is tackling it by building 1.4 million low-cost housing units in 9 years, and is still doing more,” Obi said.
Follow the Parallel Facts channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaCQSAoHgZWiDjR3Kn2E
