The 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Mr. Peter Obi, has criticised the Federal Government over the alleged $9 million deal with a United States lobbying firm, describing it as wasteful spending.
FG reportedly hired the lobbying firm to help relay its efforts at protecting Christians in Nigeria to the United States government under a six-month contract, with the possibility of a six-month extension.
Nigeria paid $4.5 million as a six-month retainer pre-payment for the contract and is expected to pay another $4.5 million in two additional six-month instalments, bringing the total value of the deal to $9 million.
The development comes amid growing interest by the United States government in allegations of Christian persecution in Nigeria.
Reacting to the move on Friday, Obi expressed concern that Nigerian leaders continue to prioritise waste, corruption, propaganda, and misinformation over meaningful development initiatives.
“Recently, it was reported that $9 million of taxpayers’ money was spent on lobbyists in Washington, which I believe is just a small fraction of the global waste occurring in the same manner. This situation aligns with the disgraceful state of Nigeria.
“This is merely a small example of wasteful spending that has contributed to our nation’s current failing status. To further illustrate the impact of such waste, we can look at a critical measure of development: the Human Development Index (HDI). Nigeria has remained stagnant in the low HDI category for 35 years, from 1990 to 2025. In contrast, comparable nations within the same low category, such as China — where Nigeria had a three-fold higher per capita income in 1990 — and Indonesia have advanced from low to medium, and now to high categories.
“The achievements of these nations were not the result of fate, miracles, or natural endowments, but rather a consequence of choices and the cumulative effects of good and bad leadership. This underscores the importance of prioritization,” he stated.
Obi also explained the implications of the $9 million expenditure in relation to the components of the HDI, including life expectancy (health), education, and per capita income (poverty).
“For instance, regarding health, let’s examine the $9 million, which is approximately ₦14 billion spent wrongly. Nigeria now has the lowest life expectancy in the world and ranks among the top two countries globally for maternal mortality, making childbirth one of the most precarious experiences for Nigerian women. Instead of investing in life-saving systems, we spend millions trying to obscure our failures.
“Our key medical centers are teaching hospitals, and I will use six — one from each geopolitical zone of Nigeria — to illustrate this failure. For the 2024 capital budget for teaching hospitals, which remains operational today, the allocations are as follows: ₦2.67 billion to the University College Hospital, Ibadan (South-West), ₦2.46 billion to Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria (North-West), ₦2.8 billion to the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu (South-East), ₦2.43 billion to the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Benin City (South-South), ₦1.16 billion to the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, Ilorin (North-Central), and ₦2.37 billion to the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital, Maiduguri (North-East), totaling ₦13.9 billion for our premier medical centers,” he said.
According to him, the $9 million spent on foreign lobbyists could have been better utilised to purchase essential medical equipment for Nigerian hospitals, thereby improving healthcare delivery and enhancing the country’s global image.
Obi stressed that the amount is sufficient to fund the entire 2024 capital budget of at least one major teaching hospital in each geopolitical zone, which would directly improve survival rates, quality of care, and life expectancy.
“The funds are available; what is lacking are prioritisation, discipline, and effective leadership,” he said, describing the situation as unacceptable.
Obi noted that every naira of taxpayers’ money should serve the Nigerian people, lamenting that citizens continue to die in poorly equipped hospitals while the government spends millions of dollars paying foreign lobbyists to create a false impression that all is well.
He further stated that Nigeria must stop living in illusion while reality continues to deteriorate, adding that the constant prioritisation of trivial matters must come to an end.
