Former Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi has criticised the Federal Government over the reported spending of $9 million (about ₦14 billion) on foreign lobbyists, describing the move as wasteful, insensitive and a reflection of Nigeria’s deepening governance failures.
In a statement on Saturday, Obi said the decision to channel scarce public funds into foreign lobbying while critical sectors such as healthcare and education remain underfunded highlights what he called the country’s “distorted sense of priorities.”
“It is both tragic and concerning that our leaders continue to prioritise waste, corruption, propaganda, lies and negative aspects of development over positive initiatives,” Obi said.
He argued that the reported $9 million lobbying expenditure was only a fraction of broader public sector waste and emblematic of Nigeria’s long-standing developmental stagnation.
According to Obi, Nigeria has remained in the low Human Development Index (HDI) category for 35 years, from 1990 to 2025, while countries such as China and Indonesia, which were once behind Nigeria economically, have climbed into higher development brackets.
“These outcomes were not the result of miracles or natural endowments,”
They were the result of choices and the cumulative effects of good and bad leadership. This underscores the importance of prioritisation.”he said .
Using healthcare as a benchmark, Obi said Nigeria is failing across all key HDI indicators life expectancy, education and income despite the availability of funds.
“Nigeria now has the lowest life expectancy in the world and ranks among the top two countries for maternal mortality yet instead of investing in life-saving systems, we spend millions trying to obscure our failures.”he said.
To underscore his point, Obi compared the lobbying expenditure with allocations to Nigeria’s major teaching hospitals in the 2024 capital budget, which total ₦13.9 billion across six institutions nationwide.
He listed allocations including ₦2.67 billion to University College Hospital, Ibadan; ₦2.46 billion to Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria; ₦2.8 billion to University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu; ₦2.43 billion to University of Benin Teaching Hospital; ₦1.16 billion to University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital; and ₦2.37 billion to University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital.
“The $9 million spent on foreign lobbyists could fund the entire capital budget of at least one major teaching hospital in each geopolitical zone, that would directly improve survival rates, healthcare delivery and life expectancy.”
He stressed that the problem confronting Nigeria is not a lack of resources but poor leadership choices.
“The funds are available; what is lacking are prioritisation, discipline and effective leadership,” he said.
Obi described the situation as unacceptable, warning that Nigeria cannot continue to mask internal failures with external image management.
“Every naira of taxpayers’ money should serve the Nigerian people,” he said. “Citizens are dying in failing hospitals while the government pays foreigners to pretend that everything is fine. This constant prioritisation of trivial matters must come to an end.”