By Abiola Olawale
The 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, has lashed out at the Federal Government following reports that the President Bola Tinubu-led administration has committed $9 million to hire US-based lobbying firms.
Obi described the expenditure as “profligate” and “insensitive,” particularly as millions of Nigerians grapple with record-high inflation, food insecurity, and a crumbling infrastructure.
​In a strongly worded statement released via his official X (formerly Twitter) handle, Obi questioned the rationale behind spending billions of Naira to polish the government’s image abroad while the domestic economy remains in a tailspin.
He argued that while the $9 million figure has drawn attention, it represents only a fraction of the broader inefficiencies and misallocations that continue to undermine Nigeria’s progress across key social and economic indicators.
Obi anchored his criticism on Nigeria’s long-standing performance on the Human Development Index (HDI), noting that the country has remained in the low HDI category for 35 years, from 1990 to 2025.
Obi said: “It is both tragic and concerning that our leaders continue to prioritize waste, corruption, propaganda, lies, and negative aspects of development over positive initiatives.
“Recently, it was reported that $9 million of taxpayers’ money was spent on lobbyists in Washington, which I believe is just a small fraction of the global waste occurring in the same manner. This situation aligns with the disgraceful state of Nigeria.
“This is merely a small example of wasteful spending that has contributed to our nation’s current failing status. To further illustrate the impact of such waste, we can look at a critical measure of development: the Human Development Index (HDI). Nigeria has remained stagnant in the low HDI category for 35 years, from 1990 to 2025. In contrast, comparable nations within the same low category, such as China—where Nigeria had a three-fold higher per capita income in 1990—and Indonesia have advanced from low to medium, and now to high categories.
“The achievements of these nations were not the result of fate, miracles, or natural endowments, but rather a consequence of choices and the cumulative effects of good and bad leadership. This underscores the importance of prioritization.
“To explain further the implications of the $9 million expenditure, let’s consider the components of HDI: life expectancy (health), education, and per capita income (poverty). Nigeria is failing in all three measures. For instance, regarding health, let’s examine the $9 million, which is approximately ₦14 billion spent wrongly. Nigeria now has the lowest life expectancy in the world and ranks among the top two countries globally for maternal mortality, making childbirth one of the most precarious experiences for Nigerian women. Instead of investing in life-saving systems, we spend millions trying to obscure our failures.
“Our key medical centers are teaching hospitals, and I will use six from each geopolitical zone of Nigeria to illustrate this failure. For the 2024 capital budget for teaching hospitals, which remains operational today, the allocations are as follows: ₦2.67 billion to the University College Hospital, Ibadan (South-West), ₦2.46 billion to Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria (North-West), ₦2.8 billion to the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu (South-East), ₦2.43 billion to the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Benin City (South-South), ₦1.16 billion to the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, Ilorin (North-Central), and ₦2.37 billion to the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital, Maiduguri (North-East), totaling ₦13.9 billion for our premier medical centers.
“The $9 million spent on foreign lobbyists could have been used wisely to purchase essential hospital equipment for Nigerian hospitals, improving our healthcare capabilities and positively influencing our national image.
“This $9 million is sufficient to fund the entire 2024 capital budget for at least one major teaching hospital in each zone, directly enhancing survival rates, care, and life expectancy. The funds are available; what is lacking is prioritization, discipline, and effective leadership.
“This situation is unacceptable. Every naira of taxpayers’ money should serve the Nigerian people. Instead, citizens are dying in failing hospitals while the government pays foreigners to pretend that everything is fine. We cannot continue to live in an illusion while our reality deteriorates. This constant prioritization of trivial matters must come to an end.”
