Peter Obi, a politician and former governor of Anambra State, has criticized the Federal Government for fabricating a N7 trillion budget fraud claim that BudgIT recently exposed.
The civic-tech organization that promotes budget accountability and transparency in Nigeria and other African nations announced on Tuesday that it had found 11, 122 projects totaling N6.93 trillion that the National Assembly had inserted into the national budget for 2025.
The figure, according to an 18-page report released by the organization on Tuesday, represents 12.5% of the N54.99 trillion budget, which President Bola Ahmed Tinubu signed into law on February 28.
A thorough analysis of the BudgIT report revealed that 238 projects, totaling N2.29 trillion, were inserted into the budget without much or no justification.
Additionally, a budget that included 119 projects in the N1 billion and 94 projects in the N1.7 trillion range, totaling N641.38 billion, was indiscriminately inserted into the budget, according to the report.
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In response to the report, Obi expressed his deep trouble and called Nigeria a “relentless scene of corruption.”
“Nigeria continues to be a corrupt country.” I have consistently argued that Nigeria must stop acting as a crime scene and be repositioned for real development in order for this nation to advance.
If there is going to be a significant change, “this deeply ingrained corruption must be nipped in the bud.” How else can we explain the troubling revelations made by BudgIT, which included a staggering $7 trillion in dubious projects for the 2025 national budget? I’m persuaded that this figure only accounts for a small portion of the actual misappropriation.
These findings confirm my long-held claim that we have turned our nation into a crime location. To effectively and effectively manage our resources, we must urgently and systematically combat corruption, misappropriation, and fiscal recklessness, and invest in essential development areas like education, health, and lifting our people out of poverty.
The 7 trillion discovered as being duped into the 2025 budget is even greater than the combined budgets for the ministries of agriculture, human rights, and health, which are essential to the development of the country.
The politician listed each ministry’s 2025 federal allocation, noting that the total amounts were still below the alleged N7tn, which was also inserted.
To be precise, the Ministry of Education received 3.55 trillion, the Ministry of Health received 2.48 trillion, the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation received 260 billion, and the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security received 636.08 billion. These four ministries received a total of $6.896 trillion, which is an already exaggerated sum, but it is still below the $7 trillion budget-dubiously injected figure.
At a time when Nigeria is among the most terrorized countries in the world, “that is even more than the 6.1 trillion allocated to national security.”
Obi questioned why the federal government would not instead invest in vital sectors like agriculture, healthcare, and education, describing the action as “brazen impunity” by political leaders.
“The country cannot invest adequately in education, which is why there are nearly 20 million children who are not in school,” according to our leaders. The corruption that has harmed primary healthcare has led to alarming numbers of malnourished children. Our leaders ignore agricultural investment because of persistent mismanagement and a lack of accountability, despite the widespread hunger we experience.
Source: Channels TV
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