CEM REPORT | The Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi has insisted that the Federal Government must end the regime of subsidy and divert resources to job creation and regenerative investments.
He also alleged that the high level of corruption in the country is the cause of the decay in the education sector and other sectors including power and healthcare.
Peter Obi who made the statement after the Labour Party Summit which took place in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja on Thursday, added that diverting resources to critical areas will drastically reduce the high incidence of insecurity and poverty.
“Going forward we must look for ways to move Nigeria beyond oil. We must end this criminality called ‘oil subsidy Nigeria today is vastly polarised and wrecked by divisions that run deep along religious, ethnic and regional lines.
“There is a staggering level of corruption. Our universities have remained closed for over five months. While our healthcare system remains comatose, power generation and distribution are also at an all-time low.
“After we win the 2023 elections, we intend to use the instruments of job creation and regenerative investments to drastically reduce the high incidence of insecurity and poverty, while moving the economy from the consumptive to the productive mode.”
He said the greatest challenge Nigeria faces beyond bad leadership is lack of elite consensus, citing that History must serve as a tool in decision-making.
“The implosion of Nigeria has long been forecasted. Year 2023 could be a tipping point in the annals of our history. But that must not happen, even as the options before the electorate seem stark.”
Recall that in April, following the approval of a revised 2022 budget by the Nigerian Senate, what was amended was an upward review of the budget amount for Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) subsidy for 2022 by N442.72billion, from N3.557 trillion to N4 trillion.
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The Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) reported a record-breaking fiscal deficit of N7.3 trillion in 2021 as actual expenditure of N11.69 trillion vastly exceeded its 2021 generated revenues of N4.39 trillion, for every N4 earned by the Federal government, it spent over N11.
