Obi Blasts Adamawa Govt For Wasting N600m To Sponsor LG Chairmen Wives To Turkiye

A key opposition leader in the country, Peter Obi has dragged the Adamawa state government for sponsoring 21 local government chairmen wives on a trip to Turkiye. At least, N600 million was spent on the controversial trip, he said, which should have been used to fund education and other critical sectors in the state.

Obi, the 2023 Presidential candidate of the Labour Party, LP, made the remark on Friday in the post he shared on his verified X handle.

He stated that the amount could have been used to construct 30 blocks of six classrooms at an average cost of N20 million each, which could have been beneficial to school children in the state, adding that many children in the state are out of school, lacks basic education because of inadequate teachers and classrooms.

He stressed that the funds should have been put to good use, for instance, to pay local government pensioners who are still being owned arrears of pensions.

Such funds, he added, could have been invested in eradicating povertt, healthcare facilities and other areas where the state is lagging behind.

He said, “Today, while our children at the basic education level, whose education is the responsibility of local governments, are out of school, and those in school lack classrooms and teachers, while LGA pensioners are likely being owed, and teachers continue to struggle under economic hardship, it is disheartening that scarce resources are channeled into frivolities such as foreign trips for the wives of local government chairmen who have no public office, at an estimated cost of about ₦600 million in public funds.

“While I sincerely commend Governor Fintiri and his team for their efforts, especially in the area of infrastructure in Yola, Adamawa still remains one of the states in urgent need of investment in critical sectors such as education, healthcare, and poverty alleviation. Such money, if directed at women micro-credit at an average of ₦100,000 each for women-led micro businesses, will uplift 6,000 women, which would be more impactful to the various LGAs, with about 300 women in each LGA being empowered, than this wasteful spending.”