Labour Party’s presidential candidate in Nigeria’s last general election, Peter Obi, has commented on the Supplementary Budget signed on Monday by President Bola Tinubu, saying it does not reflect mostly urgent items of national welfare.
In a post on X titled: “Observations on the Supplementary Budget”, Obi said the budget, which has drawn a lot of controversies, including the N5bn yacht allocated for the president and the N1.5 billion allocated for cars for the Office of the First Lady, does not feature the nation’s most pressing needs.
Obi said the concept of a supplementary budget is created to address important national welfare needs that were not initially accounted for in the main budget or lack sufficient funding.
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Though he acknowledged that certain items in the current budget may not have been considered the priorities of a new administration, Obi argued that a supplementary budget introduced late in the financial year should primarily focus on urgent national welfare concerns.
The former Anambra State governor expressed disappointment that the recently announced supplementary budget by the government does not adequately address the most pressing national needs and emergencies.
He cited a warning from organizations like the United Nations and World Food Programme, stating that up to 6.5 million Nigerians are at risk of hunger next year, particularly in states like Sokoto, Adamawa, Borno, Yobe, and Zamfara. He said that a caring government should allocate funds in the supplementary budget to address this impending crisis.
Obi contends that the government’s overall attitude suggests a lack of awareness regarding the significant crisis facing the country, and a failure to empathize with the struggles of the population.
“The government’s overall attitude does not indicate that it is aware that the country is in a huge crisis, nor is the government in tune with the plight of the generality of our people,” he said.
He also expressed concern about the fact that a substantial portion of the funding for these extravagant expenses will likely come from borrowing. He said that, given the current challenging circumstances, Nigerians expect the government to demonstrate empathy and practicality rather than indulging in lavish expenditures.
Read the full text below:
A supplementary budget is a budget made for very important national welfare needs of the people which were not captured originally in the main budget or do not have adequate funding.
Admittedly, some items in the current budget may not have taken into consideration the needs of a new administration, but it is expected that a supplementary budget this late in the financial year should reflect mostly urgent items of national welfare.
Sadly, the most pressing national needs and emergencies have not featured in the supplementary budget that was just announced by the government. For example, the United Nations and World Food Programme have recently warned that up to 6.5 million Nigerians will go hungry next year. This number is largely from among citizens in Sokoto, Adamawa, Borno, Yobe, and Zamfara States. A caring Government in order to plan for the mitigation of such pending catastrophe can request supplementary budget provisions to cushion those under threat.
No item of urgent social welfare has yet featured in the supplementary budget being orchestrated by this government. Instead, the items being made to dominate public discourse on the budget include a mysterious Presidential Yacht, Presidential Jets, the furnishing of already lavishly furnished presidential quarters and offices, fleets of luxury SUVs etc. This portrays a Government that is totally uncaring and insensitive to the suffering of the majority, and indifferent to the mood of the nation.
The government’s overall attitude does not indicate that it is aware that the country is in a huge crisis, nor is the government in tune with the plight of the generality of our people.
Even worse is the fact that most of the funding for these profligate expenditures will be largely borrowed.
The least that Nigerians expect from the government at this difficult moment is empathy and realism, not lavish indulgence.