In a scathing critique of the nation’s fiscal priorities, former Anambra State Governor and 2023 presidential candidate Peter Obi has denounced the government’s allocation of funds, decrying a lack of attention to human capital development.
“Shocking” is how Obi described the recently signed budget, pointing to the mere N5 billion designated for student loans. He revealed that a staggering N6 billion was earmarked for building a car park for legislators – an amount surpassing the funds allocated to empower students. Obi, emphasizing the irony, stated, “Legislators recently used 12 times the amount of student loans to buy official cars.”
The former governor expressed dismay over the unfinished National Library, initiated in 1995 by Late General Abacha, despite substantial expenditures. “Nigeria’s National library is operating from rented accommodations,” Obi lamented, juxtaposing this with the National Assembly’s N3 billion budget for books for its own library.
Obi’s critique hinges on the urgent need to cut governance costs and prioritize developmental areas. With Nigeria languishing at 163 out of 191 countries in the Human Development Index, he warned, “Without prioritizing expenditure on growth, tangible and lasting development will remain elusive.”