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By Chinelo Obogo
Labour Party’s presidential candidate, Mr Peter Obi, has called on Nigeria’s anti-graft agencies to intensify investigations into grand theft, corruption, oil theft, budget padding, contract inflation, embezzlement, and misappropriation of public funds.
In a series of messages which he posted on his verified X handle, the former Anambra State governor said he has consistently advocated for prioritising the tackling of grand corruption, which has ravaged the economy and impoverished citizens.
He said: “The recent alarm that was raised by the Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Mr. Ola Olukoyede, on the massive looting of our treasury and assets by public officials in Nigeria deserves commendation.
“It’s also crucial to hold those who engage in cronyism and nepotism. Lesser agencies can handle minor cases of petty theft and money spraying at parties.
“The EFCC chairman’s resolve to confront this scourge head-on is laudable, and I urge him to remain steadfast in his pursuit of verifiable cases. Together, we must ensure that those responsible for this large-scale pillage are held accountable and that our nation’s wealth is protected for the benefit of all Nigerians. By prioritising high-impact cases, we can restore public trust, strengthen institutions, and ensure leadership that saves enough funds for healthcare, education, and infrastructure, pulling people out of poverty. It is time for accountability and transparency to prevail”, he said.
Similarly, Tracka, BudgIT’s service delivery promotion platform, which allows citizens to collaborate, track, and give feedback on public projects in their communities, said it discovered N732.5 billion worth of empowerment projects in the 2024 Federal Government capital and constituency projects, an amount higher than the N646.5 billion allocated to health projects.
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It said despite the 2023 record of Nigeria having the second-highest child mortality rate in the world, the government has shown no signs of tackling these critical emergencies head-on, as the allocations in the 2024 budget do not reflect priority in the health sector.
Tracka said that empowerment projects are vague and challenging to track due to their nature and are also used as a funnel to transfer public resources to party loyalists, resulting in the misuse of public funds. It also revealed that in the 2024 Federal Government budget, there are 4,440 empowerment projects and that previously, empowerment projects were limited to constituency projects, but over the years, they have gradually seeped into capital projects through insertions by the National Assembly.
Head, Tracka, Ayomide Ladipo said: “For instance, the National Assembly inserted 7,447 projects valued at N2.24 trillion in the 2024 budget. This as a problematic trend, considering the nation’s huge infrastructure gap and budget deficits.
Further analysis also showed that over 2,558 projects worth N624 billion were allocated to agencies outside their mandate.
An example is the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN)-ERGP20241489-allocated N5 billion for the procurement and distribution of official vehicles to selected traditional rulers in the six geopolitical zones in Nigeria. Another is the Nigeria Institute of Oceanography and Marine Research (NIOMR)-ERGP20245718-allocated N2.32 billion to construct a 3.5km Road from Methodist Church Ibu to the Eri River.”
BudgIT’s Country Director, Gabriel Okeowo, expressed concern over this development, saying: “The implications of assigning projects to agencies outside of their mandate are that it undermines monitoring, evaluation, and the sustainability of these projects. These agencies lack the expertise and personnel to ensure quality service delivery for these projects, leading to under-delivery and a colossal waste of taxpayers’ money and scarce resources.”
The organisation called on anti-graft agencies to probe these anomalies in the 2024 budget to forestall diversion, misappropriation, and embezzlement. It also call on elected representatives and Ministries, Department and Agencies to provide timely updates to the public and ensure the quality implementation of these projects to ensure Nigerians derive maximum benefit from public funds.
