Peter Obi: Cost of governance today is criminal and unacceptable

Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 elections, says the high cost of governance and the frittering of public resources is “criminal and unacceptable”. 

Speaking in an interview on News Central Television, Obi said the country’s resources have not been properly managed by government.

“We have today overtaken India in infant mortality. The capital budget of our primary healthcare for the whole nation is about N59 billion. The cost of our presidential jet is over $100 million. It is about N160 billion. That is three times our primary healthcare cost,” he said.

Obi accused the President Bola Tinubu administration of opacity in the management of public funds.

“We now live in an era where nobody knows what is happening,” he said.

He added that the country needs a parliamentary system of government, which he considers more accountable to the people than the presidential system.

“That is why I keep saying we must go back to the parliamentary system of governance. Even if we must keep the presidential system, there must be a bit of tweak to the parliamentary system where all these expenditures will be properly explained,” he said.

“Because the waste is incredible. What we are going through now is never imagined.”

Obi said prudence in the management of the nation’s resources is not just a constitutional failure but a leadership problem.

“It is a leadership problem. It is getting leaders who are conscious of the fact that our resources have to be prioritised in key development areas,” he said.

“Yes, we need to tweak the constitution but today what you need is competent leaders who have compassion and are dedicated to prioritising the resources of the government to key development areas which are health, education, pulling people out of poverty, securing the country, and making sure things work.

“The cost of governance and the waste today is criminal and unacceptable.”