– Calls For Investigation
The former Governor of Anambra State and Presidential candidate of Labour Party in the 2023 general election in Nigeria, Peter Obi, has condemned in very strong terms the alleged #3 trillion discrepancy between the budget approved by the Senate and the one that is being implemented by the Presidency.
Obi, in a post on his social media platform, described the allegation as shameful and of great concern, considering the level of insecurity, hunger and poverty, ravaging the country, adding that “this depicts the height of insensitivity to the plight of the people. Every Naira of our budget especially at these challenging times should be judiciously used to build a better Nigeria”.
“One Senator claims there is a separate budget, allegedly containing the N3 trillion, that differs from what was passed by the National Assembly. This alleged discrepancy is especially worrying because it represents over 10% of our national budget (estimated at N29 trillion) and is more than the combined education (N1.54 trillion) and health (N1.38 trillion) official budgets. This lack of transparency in managing public funds is a breach of trust between the Nigerian people and their elected leaders”.
We also deserve full accountability of all our scarce resources placed in public trust. Therefore, we, the Nigerian people, demand a public explanation from both the National Assembly and the Presidency regarding the purpose and process of adding this alleged N3 trillion allocation to the officially approved national budget for 2024. Transparency and accountability remain the cornerstones of good democratic governance at all levels. This is our unwavering commitment to building a New Nigeria which we insist remains possible”.
