Mkpoikana Udoma
Port Harcourt — Former presidential candidate Peter Obi has condemned the Federal Government’s reported $9 million expenditure on foreign lobbyists, describing it as a symbol of misplaced priorities amid Nigeria’s deepening development crisis.
This is as the President Bola Tinubu-led government has reportedly hired an American lobbying firm, DCI Group AZ, LLC, for $750,000 per month over six months to defend its international reputation in Washington.
Under the agreement, DCI Group is mandated to brief the United States government on Nigeria’s efforts to protect both Christians and Muslims, while also sustaining American support for Nigeria’s campaign against terrorist groups operating in West Africa.
But in a strongly worded statement, Obi said the spending reflects a pattern where leaders prioritise “waste, corruption, propaganda and lies” over investments that directly improve citizens’ welfare, particularly healthcare, education and poverty reduction.
“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 $9 million, estimated at about N14 billion, represents only “a small fraction of the global waste” but vividly illustrates how poor choices have kept Nigeria trapped in underdevelopment.
Using the Human Development Index, HDI, as a benchmark, Obi noted that Nigeria has remained in the low HDI category for 35 years, from 1990 to 2025, while peer countries such as China and Indonesia have progressed to medium and high development levels.
“These outcomes were not the result of fate or miracles, but of choices and the cumulative effects of leadership,” he stated.
Obi linked the controversial spending to Nigeria’s dire healthcare indicators, stressing that the country now records the lowest life expectancy globally and ranks among the top two countries for maternal mortality.
“Instead of investing in life-saving systems, we spend millions trying to obscure our failures,” he said.
He contrasted the lobbying expenditure with the 2024 capital allocations to Nigeria’s major teaching hospitals, revealing that the combined budget for six institutions, one in each geopolitical zone, totaled N13.9 billion, nearly the same as the $9 million reportedly paid to lobbyists.
According to Obi, the funds could have fully covered capital budgets for at least one teaching hospital in each zone, improving equipment, care delivery and survival rates nationwide.
“This $9 million is sufficient to fund the entire capital budget of our premier medical centres,” he said. “The funds are available; what is lacking are prioritisation, discipline and effective leadership.”
Obi concluded that continued misallocation of public funds is unacceptable, warning that Nigerians are paying with their lives while resources meant for development are diverted elsewhere.
“Every naira of taxpayers’ money should serve the Nigerian people. We cannot continue to live in an illusion while our reality deteriorates,” he said.
