Labour Party’s Peter Obi Criticizes N3 Billion Expenditure on Poor Citizens’ Verification.
The presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 general elections, Peter Obi, has expressed strong disapproval of the administration of President Bola Tinubu for allocating N3 billion to verify the national register of poor citizens.
In a series of tweets on Wednesday, Mr. Obi condemned what he considered wasteful spending, emphasizing the urgent need for Nigeria to take decisive actions to reduce the cost of governance.
It is very surprising to hear that the sum of N3 billion was approved for the verification of the national register of the poor,” Mr. Obi stated. He added, “This can only happen in Nigeria. I have maintained that we must decisively deal with the issue of the cost of governance in Nigeria now as a matter of urgency.”
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Mr. Obi argued that the allocated N3 billion could have been better utilized for poverty alleviation rather than spending it on verifying the national register of poor citizens.
“The same amount would have made a significant impact if prudently and transparently managed. Moreover, with more than half of our population battling with absolute and multidimensional poverty, one wonders why such a huge sum was approved for just the verification of the national register of the poor, when the same amount could have been directed towards actual poverty alleviation.
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This approval raises a fundamental question: how come the data for poverty alleviation has not been verified on a regular basis?,” Mr. Obi questioned.
Mr. Obi’s criticisms come in response to a leaked document revealing approval for the humanitarian ministry to spend N3 billion on the verification of the national register of the poor from COVID palliative funds.
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Amid public outrage over the leaked document, the presidency clarified that the N3 billion was indeed approved for the national register of the poor.
Reacting to the leaked document, lawyer Inibehe Effiong said, “N3 billion ‘for verification’ of ‘National Social Register’? Fela called it authority stealing. They want the masses to continue to make sacrifices while the people in government continue to loot and live lavishly.”
