Peter Obi blasts Tinubu govt’s $9m US lobbying deal, calls it ‘insensitive waste’ amid Nigeria’s economic crisis

The 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, has strongly criticised the Federal Government over reports that the Bola Tinubu administration approved $9 million for lobbying services in the United States, describing the move as wasteful and out of touch with Nigeria’s economic realities.

Obi said the expenditure was “profligate” and “deeply insensitive” at a time when millions of Nigerians are battling soaring inflation, worsening food insecurity, collapsing healthcare facilities and failing infrastructure.

In a statement posted on his official X (formerly Twitter) handle, the former Anambra State governor questioned the logic of spending billions of naira to burnish Nigeria’s image abroad while the domestic economy remains in distress.

While acknowledging that the $9 million figure has sparked widespread outrage, Obi argued that it represents only a fraction of the broader pattern of waste and misallocation that has stalled Nigeria’s development for decades.

He anchored his criticism on Nigeria’s long-standing poor 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.

“It is both tragic and concerning that our leaders continue to prioritise waste, corruption, propaganda, lies and negative aspects of development over positive initiatives,” Obi said.

“Recently, it was reported that $9 million of taxpayers’ money was spent on lobbyists in Washington. I believe this is just a small fraction of the global waste occurring in the same manner. This situation mirrors the disgraceful state of Nigeria today.”

Obi contrasted Nigeria’s stagnation with countries such as China and Indonesia, which he said were once in the same low HDI category but have since advanced to medium and high development levels through deliberate policy choices and disciplined leadership.

“The progress of these nations was not the result of fate or miracles, but the cumulative effect of good leadership and sound prioritisation,” he said.

Breaking down the implications of the $9 million spending, Obi focused on the three core components of the HDI—health, education and income—arguing that Nigeria is failing in all three.

He noted that Nigeria currently has the lowest life expectancy globally and ranks among the top two countries in maternal mortality, making childbirth extremely dangerous for Nigerian women.

According to him, the $9 million—about ₦14 billion—could have been channelled into strengthening Nigeria’s healthcare system rather than “masking failures with foreign propaganda.”

Obi cited the 2024 capital budget allocations to major teaching hospitals across the six geopolitical zones, which total about ₦13.9 billion, including ₦2.67 billion for University College Hospital, Ibadan; ₦2.46 billion for Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria; ₦2.8 billion for University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu; ₦2.43 billion for University of Benin Teaching Hospital; ₦1.16 billion for University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital; and ₦2.37 billion for University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital.

He argued that the $9 million spent on lobbyists could have funded the entire capital budget of at least one major teaching hospital in each geopolitical zone, significantly improving healthcare delivery and life expectancy.

“The funds exist. What is lacking is prioritisation, discipline and effective leadership,” Obi said.

He warned that Nigeria cannot continue to “live in illusion while reality deteriorates,” stressing that every naira of public funds must be deployed to serve the Nigerian people rather than cosmetic image management abroad.

“This constant elevation of trivial matters over life-saving investments must stop,” he added.