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By Myke Agunwa
The presidential Candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 general election, Peter Obi, has reiterated his position that the country as presently constituted cannot make any progress as long as corruption, budget padding and other financial infractions continue to thrive in the public space.
He said that for the country to make any headway, entrenched corruption which is deeply rooted in the polity must be nipped in the bud.
Recall that a non-governmental civic and transparency organisation, BudgIT, had alleged that a staggering 11,122 projects worth ₦6.93 trillion in questionable projects were dubiously inserted into the 2025 national budget.
Reacting to the discovery, Obi in his official X handle on Wednesday said,
“How else can we explain the distressing revelations by BudgIT, which uncovered a staggering ₦7 trillion in questionable projects inserted into the 2025 national budget? I am convinced that this figure represents only a fraction of the actual amount misappropriated.
These findings are deeply troubling and confirm my long-held position that we have turned our country into a crime scene. We must urgently and aggressively combat corruption, misappropriation, and fiscal recklessness in order to manage our resources effectively and efficiently and invest in critical areas of development: health, education, and lifting our people out of poverty.
“The ₦7 trillion uncovered as fraudulently inserted into the 2025 budget is even greater than the combined allocations to the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, and the Ministry of Agriculture – ministries that are fundamental to national development,” he said.
Obi who gave a detailed breakdown of the budget and how, in his view, fund allocations were not prioritized to the critical sector said,
“The Ministry of Education was allocated ₦3.52 trillion, The Ministry of Health received ₦2.48 trillion, The Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation was allocated ₦260 billion, and The Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security received ₦636.08 billion.
“Combined, these four ministries were allocated ₦6.896 trillion—an already inflated amount—yet still less than the ₦7 trillion dubiously inserted into the budget.
“That ₦7 trillion figure is even more than the ₦6.1 trillion allocated to national security—at a time when Nigeria is among the most terrorised nations in the world.”
The former governor of Anambra State pointed out that the brazen impunity by leaders is precisely why the country cannot invest adequately in education, hence the existence of nearly 20 million out-of-school children.
“It is the same corruption that has crippled primary healthcare, resulting in alarming levels of malnourished children. We face widespread hunger, yet our leaders neglect agricultural investment due to persistent mismanagement and lack of accountability. The same disregard affects our capacity to fund national security effectively or to support Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), which are vital to national growth.
“These glaring acts of corruption reinforce my position: Nigeria has been reduced to a crime scene,” he lamented.
The LP leader added that the country must confront corruption, misappropriation, and fiscal recklessness with unwavering resolve. He said that national resources must be transparently managed and strategically invested in key sectors—health, education, and poverty alleviation—to secure a better future for the country.