Peter Obi, former presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 election, has condemned the federal government for operating multiple budgets concurrently.
In a post on X on Saturday, Obi said this is a blatant disregard for fiscal responsibility, transparency, and accountability.
Currently, the federal government is operating the 2023 budget, 2023 supplementary budget, and the 2024 budget — and on May 29, President Bola Tinubu said the 2024 supplementary appropriation bill would soon be presented before the national assembly.
According to Obi, this action by the federal government is also a recipe for chaos, confusion, and catastrophe.
“All available evidence has confirmed that the Nigerian government is implementing four national budgets concurrently,” he said.
“This is in blatant disregard for fiscal responsibility, transparency, and accountability. It is also a recipe for chaos, confusion, and catastrophe.
“This intentionally reckless action will lead to frivolous items in the approved budgets competing with essential projects for limited resources, further exacerbating the suffering of the Nigerian people.”
Obi said Nigerian leaders are disconnected from reality and lack the competence to manage the nation’s finances effectively.
“It indicates that the leaders are out of touch with reality and lack the competence to manage our nation’s finances effectively,” he said.
“Unfortunately, this deliberate act of fiscal recklessness is being undertaken by elected representatives of the people, thereby betraying one of the cardinal pillars of democracy. Leaders are elected to responsibly manage public resources in an organized way.
“I respectfully appeal and in fact, demand that this situation be reversed immediately in preference for a more responsible and transparent approach to budgeting. We must prioritize the needs of the Nigerian people, not the selfish interests of a few. This is a call to action for all Leaders to desist from actions that will further drive the country into economic chaos.”
The former presidential candidate added that neither the national assembly nor the executive has any excuse to promote or condone such unconscionable behaviour.
BudgIT, a civic-tech organisation, has also condemned plans by the federal government to implement four national budgets concurrently.
In a statement issued on Friday by Gabriel Okeowo, BudgIT’s country director, the organisation described the situation as a worrisome development.
He pointed out that globally, budgets are typically prepared to cover 12 calendar months, from January to December.
Okeowo warned that if multiple budgets are implemented simultaneously, projects from the 2023 budget and the 2023 supplementary budget will compete for the limited resources available to the federal government with essential projects in the 2024 budget.
