Peter Obi Faults FG Plan To Spend ₦3Bn On National Register Verification 

The 2023 Labour Party’s (LP) Presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi has taken a swipe at the All Progressives Congress (APC) led federal government’s plan to spend ₦3bn for the verification of the country’s national social register for the poor/vulnerable Nigerians.

Recall that President Bola Tinubu who had suspended the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Betta Edu after an alleged 585 million Naira ($640,000; £500,000) scandal in her ministry, announced that ₦3bn has been set aside to verify the social register.

This is even as the federal government has initiated investigation into the matter to ascertain the level of involvement of the Minister in the scandal in order to avoid media trial.

But taking to his Facebook handle, Peter Obi could not hide his disbelief that such a humongous amount of cash was budgeted by the federal government for just a verification exercise, an action the LP Presidential candidate said could only happen in Nigeria.

Obi, who stated that he has been canvassing for cutting the cost of governance in the country, lamented that the ₦3bn was more than the cost allocated to the funding of the National Library in the 2024 budget.

Obi said “It is very surprising to hear that the sum of N3 billion was approved for verification of national register of the poor. This can only happen in Nigeria. I have maintained that we must decisively deal with the issue of cost of governance in Nigeria now as a matter of urgency.

“Sadly, this very huge amount approved just for verification of national register of the poor is more than three times the amount of N908,699,435 which was budgeted for our National Library.

“This is happening at a time in our nation when we need all the manpower training to to keep our work force productive. Our national library, a very critical infrastructure in our nation, seemingly abandoned, lacks books and educational materials.

“The same amount, would have made a significant impact, if prudently and transparently managed.

“Moreso, with more than half of our population battling with absolute and multi dimensional poverty, one wonders why such a huge sum was approved for just verification of national register of the poor, when the same amount could have been directed towards actual poverty alleviation.

“This approval raises a fundamental question: how come the data for poverty alleviation has not been verified on a regular basis?

“The inability of we the leaders to prioritise our expenditure and focus on the critical areas of national development, and national security, are the challenges weighing down on our nation today.

“Unless we begin to sacrifice our personal comfort for the good of society, and begin to care more for the people, especially the less privileged ones, our nation will continue to grapple with all forms of societal ills caused by high level of poverty.”

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