Former Anambra State governor and 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has condemned the reported use of ₦600 million in public funds to sponsor the wives of 21 local government chairmen in Adamawa State on a trip to Turkey. He described the expenditure as “a mockery of the very essence of governance.”
In a post on Saturday, Obi criticised the trip, allegedly tagged “leadership training,” as wasteful and insensitive at a time when citizens face hardship and children lack access to quality education.
“I have just read the disturbing report that the wives of 21 local government chairmen in Adamawa State were sponsored with public funds to travel to Turkey under the guise of leadership training,” he wrote.
“Today, while our children at the basic education level, whose education is the responsibility of local governments, are out of school, and those in school lack classrooms and teachers, while LGA pensioners are likely being owed, and teachers continue to struggle under economic hardship, it is disheartening that scarce resources are channeled into frivolities such as foreign trips for the wives of local government chairmen who have no public office, at an estimated cost of about ₦600 million in public funds.”
Obi argued that the funds could have had far greater impact if redirected. He estimated that the sum could empower 6,000 women entrepreneurs with ₦100,000 micro-credit each, or fund 30 blocks of six classrooms across the state.
“Such money, if directed at women micro-credit at an average of ₦100,000 each for women-led micro businesses, will uplift 6,000 women, which would be more impactful to the various LGAs, with about 300 women in each LGA being empowered, than this wasteful spending,” he said.
The former governor acknowledged Governor Ahmadu Fintiri’s infrastructure efforts in Yola but stressed that Adamawa requires urgent investment “in education, healthcare, and poverty alleviation.”
He added that “basic education in particular cannot afford to lose such a huge amount, as the over half a billion naira in question could have funded about 30 blocks of six classrooms at an average cost of ₦20 million each, directly impacting the lives of countless children and communities.”
Obi emphasised that local government funds belong to the people and should be deployed to essential services in underserved communities.
“We must return to prudent, people-oriented governance. Local government funds belong to the people, to the market woman, the farmer, the teacher, the pensioner, and every ordinary Nigerian who depends on government for basic amenities,” he said.
“Anything short of that is an abuse of office and should not be condoned. This is not only a glaring case of waste but a mockery of the very essence of governance.”
