Obi decries wastage of public funds in Nigeria

… Says cost of governance too high

Former Governor of Anambra State and 2019 Vice Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Mr Peter Obi, has said that too much of public funds is being wasted in governance in Nigeria.

According to Obi, the high cost of governance constitutes a clog to the desired development of the country.

The former presidential candidate added that Nigeria cannot develop unless the wastage of public funds and the high cost of governance is effectively tackled.

Obi said this while addressing participants of Course 4 of the Strategic Management and Policy Course at the Nigerian Army Resource Centre in Abuja on Wednesday.

Obi told the gathering comprising retired generals, officers of the army, the various security agencies and paramilitary organizations that growth and progress will not be a reality if the current state of waste continued.

He urged Nigerian leaders to focus on the creation of public wealth rather than the accumulation of private wealth when in office.

“Public wealth enriches everybody, but private wealth impoverishes the people and the nation,” he said.

Obi, identified leadership at the core of Nigeria’s challenges stressing that until our leaders commit to good governance and responsible management of public resources, the right policies would not be put in place to serve the public.

He also said that it is criminal to owe pensioners and go about wasting money on useless social projects.

He stressed that “owing people at the most difficult times when the opportunities are less is the worse thing to do to them.”

Earlier in the programme, the Director General of the NARC Maj Gen Garba Wahab (rtd.) welcomed Obi to the centre to address participants on the leadership and strategic management issues.