The former Anambra State Governor, Mr, Peter Obi, in a statement on Monday said that the National Assembly needs to begin an immediate reassessment of the 2024 budget, given its early stage of execution, to facilitate the urgent redirection of funds to vital sectors.
The Labour Party’s candidate in the 2023 general election, Peter Obi, has demanded a comprehensive review of the 2024 budget in light of the recent scandal involving a purported N3.7 trillion padding by the Senate.
The alleged budget padding made by Senator Abdul Ningi of Bauchi Central has led to a heated dispute among federal lawmakers, with some accused of securing more constituency project funds than others.
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However, Peter Obi stated that Nigeria is dealing with a range of critical challenges in education, healthcare, economic, and power sectors, necessitating immediate attention and budget allocations.
“Having followed the controversies trailing the 2024 budget and having read some of the budgetary provisions and allocations of resources, I wish to respectfully appeal for a total review of the entire budget.” He said:
“The Executive and Legislative arms should initiate an immediate review of the budget as it is still in early days of implementation in order to enable them do urgent virement of resources to critical areas.
“The nation’s resources should adequately be appropriated to critical areas like security, fighting poverty and solving the challenges of hunger and food insecurity, power supply, especially considering the difficult times that we are in.”
