The Labour Party presidential candidate in 2023, Peter Obi, has queried the Federal government’s sense of priority and commitment to the critical indices of development.
Obi, in particular, queried the rationale behind budgeting the sum of N142billion for bus terminals whereas less than N100billion was allocated to teaching and psychiatric hospitals.
He described it as clear evidence of misplaced priority, while neglecting critical engines of development like Healthcare.
Writing on his official X handle on Friday, Obi said: “The difference between the success and failure of the development in any nation is how you prioritise your scarce resources.
“The recent announcement that a sum of N142 billion has been approved by the Federal government for the construction of one bus terminal in each of our six geopolitical zones further affirms the lack of competence, lack of focus and poor leadership.
“In the 2024 budget, which is the operational budget today, the entire budget of all the teaching hospitals across all the federal universities in the country, as well as the federal psychiatric centres, is under N100 billion, yet the government has approved N142 billion for bus terminals.
“This is disturbing, considering that Health is one of the most critical areas of development, which is deteriorating and remains grossly underfunded. WHO recently reported that over 20 million Nigerians are living with mental health issues.
“This is not only a misplaced priority but a tragic irony of our country.
This is not governance”