Budget 2024: Obi Exposes More Insensitive, Undeserving Allocations, Says N15b For NASS Hospital Five Times More Than National Hospital

Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s Presidential Candidate in the 2023 general elections, has continued to uncover some undeserving budget allocations in the 2024 federal budget, which he describes as concerning.

Obi, who had previously called for a comprehensive review of the budget, has maintained his belief that there were numerous misallocations of priorities, all of which were biassed against the poor.

Obi could not understand how the National Assembly Hospital received N15 billion for a year, which was five times more than the National Hospital and six other premier teaching hospitals in the country.

On Tuesday, the former Anambra State Governor wrote on his X handle, ‘I will continue to express my deep concern about the 2024 budget because of its critical importance to the lives of citizens, particularly the poor in our midst. I will continue to do so until the end of the year as a matter of patriotic duty. This is because the budget’s numerous negatives have far-reaching consequences for the development of our beloved country and the well-being of its citizens.

“It is clear that there are items in the budget that do not reflect our current circumstances, and it is critical to call for a review and appropriate revision. Allocating scarce resources to high-priority areas of need is critical to the nation’s well-being.

“For example, allocating N15 billion solely for the National Assembly hospital is unacceptable, especially when it exceeds five times the budgetary allocation to **The National Hospital** or the combined capital vote of our six major teaching hospitals across the nation, namely; University College Hospital, Ibadan; University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu; Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria; Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital, Ile-Ife; and Jos This disparity indicates a lack of concern for the rest of society.

“Similarly, justifying a budgetary allocation of N15.3 billion for the National Assembly library project and book procurement, including the e-Library, in a country with no National Library is extremely disappointing. The National Library has been under construction for the past 20 years, and its budgetary allocation for 2024 is less than 1 billion Naira, putting the National Assembly Library budget 15 times higher.

“Once again, the National Assembly Library budget exceeds the combined budget of the top national university libraries, which are desperately needed for research, teaching, and learning.

“Allocating N10 billion for the Senate and House of Representatives car parks, as well as the National Assembly Recreation Centre, while allocating less to the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation, is concerning. In an era when science, technology, and innovation are critical to the country’s future, such allocations demonstrate a lack of foresight and basic understanding of global trends and pressing national priorities.

“This level of insensitivity to the people’s current situation and challenges should not be tolerated by any development-minded nation.

“Every scarce resource must be directed to the productive sectors of the economy. It is time for our country to reassess its priorities, revisit the budget, eliminate frivolous spending, and properly direct our resources for the benefit of the people.

“Waste and frivolity are not the foundations of great nations”.