2024 Budget: Peter Obi Criticizes The N15 Billion Vp's Home Funding

Former Presidential Aspirant, Peter Obi

The Labour Party's (LP) nominee for president in 2023, Peter Obi, has criticized a N15 billion budget that will go toward building a new home for the vice president (VP) of the country

The former governor of Anambra State stated that for Nigeria to thrive, its leaders must be prepared to make sacrifices in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

“We need leaders who show compassion and are willing to sacrifice for common progress and development. Such compassionate and frugal leaders are critical in our journey to the New Nigeria,” he wrote.

“The recent news about a budget provision of N15 billion for the construction of a new residence for the Vice President is both shocking and disheartening, considering the many important challenges facing our nation.

“Just recently in the Supplementary Budget, the sum of N2.5 billion was included for the renovation of the Vice President's residence in Abuja, which means that he already has a residence,” the post read in part.

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“Again, during the budget presentation, I heard the sum of N3 billion was allocated for the renovation of the Vice President's residence in Lagos.

“If we total all these sums, we would have budgeted the sum of N20.5 billion for the housing of the Vice President at this critical time when we are not just the world's poverty capital, but more people are falling into poverty, with so many Nigerians not knowing where their next meal will come from. Our health facilities have collapsed, and unemployment is skyrocketing.”

Obi said “99.9% of Nigerians can only dream of living” in the current residence of Vice President Kashim Shettima.

“Most Nigerians may not know that the popular 1004 flats in Lagos, was a land allocated for the building of a Presidential Mansion for the then Head of State, General Murtala Mohammed.”