Budget Padding: Nigeria Remains A Relentless Scene Of Corruption – Peter Obi Laments

The 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has reiterated the urgent need to wipe out corruption in Nigeria.

Speaking against the backdrop of recent allegations of budget padding in the 2025 national budget of the country, Obi submitted that Nigeria remains a relentless scene of corruption.

Recall that Naija News earlier reported that a non-governmental civic and transparency organisation, BudgIT, alleged that a staggering 11,122 projects worth ₦6.93 trillion in questionable projects were dubiously inserted into the 2025 national budget.

Reacting to the allegation, Peter Obi, in a post on Wednesday via his 𝕏 account, said Nigeria must be rid of entrenched corruption if the country is to make any meaningful progress.

He posited that the discovery by BudgIT is likely a small fraction of the actual misappropriated amount, adding that such developments are troubling and beg a fresh call for the aggressive fight against corruption in Nigeria.

“I have consistently maintained that for this country to make progress, Nigeria must cease to function as a crime scene and be repositioned for genuine development.

“This entrenched corruption – persistent and deeply rooted – must be nipped in the bud if there is to be any meaningful turnaround.

“How else can we explain the distressing revelations by BudgIT, which uncovered a staggering ₦7 trillion in questionable projects inserted into the 2025 national budget? I am convinced that this figure represents only a fraction of the actual amount misappropriated. These findings are deeply troubling and confirm my long-held position that we have turned our country into a crime scene. We must urgently and aggressively combat corruption, misappropriation, and fiscal recklessness in order to manage our resources effectively and efficiently, and invest in critical areas of development: health, education, and lifting our people out of poverty,” Obi lamented.

The former Anambra State Governor further lamented the enormity of the alleged padded figure of ₦7 trillion, noting that the amount is way bigger than the official budgets of several ministries.

“The ₦7 trillion uncovered as fraudulently inserted into the 2025 budget is even greater than the combined allocations to the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, and the Ministry of Agriculture – ministries that are fundamental to national development.

To be precise:
•The Ministry of Education was allocated ₦3.52 trillion,
•The Ministry of Health received ₦2.48 trillion,
•The Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation was allocated ₦260 billion, and
•The Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security received ₦636.08 billion.

“Combined, these four ministries were allocated ₦6.896 trillion—an already inflated amount—yet still less than the ₦7 trillion dubiously inserted into the budget.

“That ₦7 trillion figure is even more than the ₦6.1 trillion allocated to national security—at a time when Nigeria is among the most terrorised nations in the world.

“This brazen impunity by our leaders is precisely why the country cannot invest adequately in education—hence the existence of nearly 20 million out-of-school children. It is the same corruption that has crippled primary healthcare, resulting in alarming levels of malnourished children. We face widespread hunger, yet our leaders neglect agricultural investment due to persistent mismanagement and lack of accountability. The same disregard affects our capacity to fund national security effectively, or to support Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), which are vital to national growth.

“These glaring acts of corruption reinforce my position: Nigeria has been reduced to a crime scene,” the former presidential candidate argued.

The Way Out

Obi recommended a transparent management of the country’s resources by its leaders as well as strategic investment in key areas of national live to spur growth and development.

According to him, a new Nigeria is still possible.

“We must confront this corruption, misappropriation, and fiscal recklessness with unwavering resolve. Our national resources must be transparently managed and strategically invested in key sectors—health, education, and poverty alleviation—to secure a better future for our people. We must turn this nation around.

“A new Nigeria is POssible,” he concluded.