The Labour Party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 general elections, Peter Obi, has called for a firm and unwavering approach in tackling corruption, misappropriation, and fiscal indiscipline in Nigeria.
In a post on X titled ‘Nigeria remains a relentless scene of corruption’, Obi stressed that for the country to move forward, it must shed its image as a “crime scene” and be reoriented toward genuine development.
He emphasized the need for transparent management and strategic investment of national resources, particularly in vital sectors such as health, education, and poverty alleviation, to build a more secure and prosperous future for Nigerians.
Obi made the remarks in response to a report by the civic organisation BudgIT, which alleged that the 2025 federal budget was marred by widespread misappropriation.
He said, “This brazen impunity by our 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.”
BudgIT had in a statement signed by a Senior Communications Associate, Nancy Odimegwu, on Tuesday, said, “BudgIT, a prominent civic tech organisation promoting transparency and accountability in Nigeria’s public finance, has uncovered 11,122 projects valued as ₦6.93 trillion inserted by the National Assembly into the 2025 Federal Government budget.”
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The National Assembly and the Presidency, have yet to comment on the issue.
However, Obi said he was convinced that the figure represented only a fraction of the actual amount misappropriated.
“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,” he said.
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The former Anambra State governor stated that the figure was greater than the combined allocations to the ministry of health, education, humanitarian affairs and poverty alleviation, and agriculture.
“To be precise, 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,” Obi said.
“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,” he added.