Peter Obi, the Labour Party (LP) presidential flagbearer in the 2023 general elections, has faulted the decision of local government chairmen in Adamawa state to fund a foreign trip for their wives.
Gatekeepers News reports that according to reports, spouses of 21 LGA bosses, alongside senior officials from the Ministry of Local Government, embarked on a leadership training programme in Istanbul last week.
Explaining the rationale, Suleiman Toungo, chairman of Toungo LGA and leader of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) in Adamawa, stated that the initiative was meant to equip their wives with leadership skills.
According to him, since the chairmen had undergone training, their spouses also required similar exposure to offer useful advice on governance.
Reacting via a statement on X on Saturday, Obi condemned the move as a misuse of public resources. He said, “I have just read the disturbing report that the wives of 21 local government chairmen in Adamawa State were sponsored with public funds to travel to Turkey under the guise of leadership training.”
The former Anambra Governor argued that the trip, which reportedly cost about N600 million, amounted to misplaced priority. He maintained that the funds could have been more effectively channelled towards improving education, supporting women entrepreneurs, or addressing pressing social needs in the state.
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 owed, and teachers continue to struggle under economic hardship, it is disheartening that scarce resources are channelled into frivolities such as foreign trips for the wives of local government chairmen who hold no public office, at an estimated cost of about N600 million in public funds.”
While acknowledging Governor Ahmadu Fintiri’s progress on infrastructural development in Yola, Obi insisted that Adamawa still required urgent attention in sectors such as education, health, and poverty alleviation.
He said, “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.”
He further stressed that public funds should be directed to people-centred projects rather than luxuries, highlighting that the money spent could have empowered thousands of women and provided additional classrooms for children.
Obi said, “Such money, if directed at women micro-credit at an average of N100,000 each for women-led micro businesses, would uplift 6,000 women – about 300 women in each LGA – which would be far more impactful than this wasteful spending.”
“Basic education in particular cannot afford to lose such a huge amount, as the over half-a-billion naira in question could have funded about 30 blocks of six classrooms at an average cost of N20 million each, directly impacting the lives of countless children and communities.”
“We must return to prudent, people-oriented governance. Local government funds belong to the people: the market woman, the farmer, the teacher, the pensioner, and every ordinary Nigerian who depends on government for basic amenities.”
“Anything short of that is an abuse of office and should not be condoned; this is not only a glaring case of waste but a mockery of the very essence of governance.”
