Amina Mansur
Mr Peter Obi, the candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 presidential election, has called on the administration of President Bola Tinubu and the leadership of the National Assembly to explain to Nigerians the purpose and process of adding the alleged N3 trillion allocation to the officially approved national budget for 2024.
Obi said that it’s a breach truth between the people of Nigeria and the election government if they are not transparent with public funds.
Obi described the alleged separate budget containing N3 trillion, which differs from what was passed by the National Assembly, as a breach of trust between the Nigerian people and their elected leaders.
According to the former Anambra State Governor, Nigerian people deserve full accountability for all the scarce resources placed in public trust.
He questioned why such discrepancies should exist in the first place.
Obi, who stated this in a tweet posted on his X account late Sunday night, stated: “I find it deeply disconcerting and a matter of grave concern and even shameful to read about the alleged N3 trillion discrepancy between the budget approved by the Nigerian Senate and the one being implemented by the presidency.
“One Senator claims there is a separate budget, allegedly containing the N3 trillion, that differs from what was passed by the National Assembly.
“This alleged discrepancy is especially worrying because it represents over 10% of our national budget (estimated at N29 trillion) and is more than the combined education (N1.54 trillion) and health (N1.38 trillion) official budgets.
“This lack of transparency in managing public funds is a breach of trust between the Nigerian people and their elected leaders.
“Every naira of our budget, especially in these challenging times, should be judiciously used to build a better Nigeria.
“We also deserve full accountability of all our scarce resources placed in public trust. Therefore, we, the Nigerian people, demand a public explanation from both the National Assembly and the Presidency regarding the purpose and process of adding this alleged N3 trillion allocation to the officially approved national budget for 2024.
“Transparency and accountability remain the cornerstones of good democratic governance at all levels. This is our unwavering commitment to building a New Nigeria which we insist remains possible.”