Nigeria Now a “Crime Scene,” Says Obi, as N7 Trillion Budget Scandal Unfolds

Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has slammed the Nigerian government over what he calls a “national disgrace” following revelations of a staggering ₦7 trillion in fraudulent allocations buried in the 2025 national budget.

In a sharply worded statement on his official X handle, Obi reacted to a report by BudgIT—a civic tech organization—which uncovered thousands of suspicious and inflated projects smuggled into the budget, describing the scale of corruption as “relentless and deeply rooted.”

“I have consistently said that Nigeria must stop operating like a crime scene if we want to make progress,” Obi declared. “This level of corruption is systemic and deliberate. It must be uprooted if we are ever to rebuild this country.”

Obi expressed alarm that the N7 trillion in questionable spending is higher than the entire budgets of four critical ministries combined:Education: N3.52 trillion, Health: N2.48 trillion, Agriculture and Food Security: N636.08 billion and
Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation: N260 billion

Together, they amount to N6.896 trillion—less than the alleged fraudulent provisions.

Even more troubling, Obi noted, the amount exceeds the N6.1 trillion allocated to national security at a time when Nigeria is grappling with terrorism, banditry, and widespread insecurity.

“We have nearly 20 million children out of school. Primary healthcare is collapsing. Farmers can’t access support. Small businesses are gasping. Yet N7 trillion is being funneled into ghost projects. This is fiscal recklessness of the highest order,” he said.

Calling for urgent accountability and reform, Obi warned that continued mismanagement would only deepen poverty and instability.

“We must invest in people, not in corruption. We need transparency, discipline, and purpose. These budget manipulations are a betrayal of every Nigerian striving for a better life. It reinforces what I’ve said time and again—Nigeria has become a crime scene. But a new Nigeria is still possible.”

The BudgIT report that triggered Obi’s response has reignited public anger, showing how deeply embedded impunity remains in Nigeria’s budget process, with political elites allegedly siphoning trillions while citizens struggle to survive.