The Labour Party Presidential candidate in the 2023 elections, Peter Obi, on Wednesday said the recent condemnation by the United States Mission in Nigeria of the misplaced spending profligates by Nigerian government officials especially the Governors has exposed the country to global ridicule.
The U.S. Mission, in an X comment on a post shared under its #Transparency Tuesday campaign on Tuesday, criticised some Nigerian Governors for spending billions on new government houses, airports, and flyovers while asking citizens to endure economic hardship.
The X post reads: “While Nigerians are urged to endure economic hardship “like labor pains,” some governors are splurging billions on new government houses, @TheAfricaReport reveals » https://bit.ly/3H5jxh9
“@BudgITng warns that “instead of funding schools, clinics, or agriculture, leaders prioritize buildings they barely use.”
“@cislacnigeria adds: “There is more money, little accountability, and no priority.” Such alleged lack of fiscal responsibility fuels inequality and erodes public trust.
Reacting via his official X account, Obi said the comments confirm Nigeria’s worsening leadership crisis and the urgent need to reset the system, saying: “I have consistently maintained that leadership failure lies at the heart of Nigeria’s problems. Until we confront it directly, the country cannot move in the right direction.”
Obi described the U.S. remarks as a reflection of what many Nigerians have long pointed out.
“Our declining governance has drawn global attention, as shown in the recent statement by the U.S. Diplomatic Mission in Nigeria. Once again, let me be clear, you cannot ask the people to keep fasting while you feast every day,” he wrote.
Quoting late renowned novelist Chinua Achebe, Obi added: “The trouble with Nigeria is simply and squarely a failure of leadership.”
He decried the growing trend of attacking critics instead of addressing core issues of governance.
“I speak out to help build a new Nigeria, free of criminality and corruption. But instead of addressing the message, those who have hijacked our country deploy media thugs to insult and distract,” he said.
Obi called on Nigerians to move beyond politics of ethnicity and religion, urging citizens to elect leaders based on competence, character, and capacity.
“We have voted based on tribe and religion for too long. It is time to vote for competence. Let us move from waste, looting, and reckless borrowing to production. Let us build a Nigeria that works,” he added.
However, former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, sharply accused the United States of hypocrisy, faulting them for attempting to moralise on governance while allegedly contributing to global crisis.
“Whilst the children of Gaza are being slaughtered and starved, the American government is sending more and more weapons to Israel to assist them in committing genocide,” he wrote.
