$9 million US lobbying deal: Peter Obi slams Tinubu’s govt

The 2023 presidential candidate for the Labour Party, Peter Obi has slammed President Bola Tinubu’s administration over an alleged $9 million US lobbying deal aimed at countering “false narratives” about the persecution of Christians across the country.

In a statement released on Friday, the former Anambra State governor said such a move by the current government is both tragic and concerning.

He also stated that it is unfortunate that Nigerian leaders continue to prioritise waste, corruption, propaganda, lies, and negative aspects of development over positive initiatives that could benefit the people whom they have promised to serve.

He said, “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,” Obi said.

Describing such an act as wasteful, Obi said developed nations did not achieve great results out of fate, miracles, or natural endowments but rather as a consequence of choices and the cumulative effects of good leadership.

Further reeling out the possible effect of such wastefulness, he said such a financial jamboree would have been enough to fund the nation’s capital budget for one medical institution in the country.

“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 centres are teaching hospitals, and I will use six—one 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 are prioritisation, discipline, and effective leadership,” he stated.

Also noting that the action of the Federal Government is unacceptable, Obi advocated for the judicious use of taxpayers’ money for total service to the needs of 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 prioritisation of trivial matters must come to an end,” he added.