Presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 general elections, Mr. Peter Obi, has condemned the Federal Government’s decision to spend a staggering N39 billion on the renovation of the International Conference Centre (ICC) in Abuja, describing it as a glaring case of misplaced priority.
Obi, who spoke in Abuja on Wednesday, said the funds expended on the facelift of the conference facility, which was recently renamed after President Bola Tinubu, could have been channelled into more pressing areas such as education and poverty alleviation.
The former Anambra State governor expressed shock that such an amount could be sunk into a non-essential project while children across the country are out of school and teachers in the Federal Capital Territory have been on strike for months over unpaid salaries.
“Spending N39 billion to renovate a conference centre at a time like this is a clear misplacement of priorities. Our schoolchildren are in desperate need of basic infrastructure.
That money could have provided thousands of computers, built classrooms, equipped laboratories, and addressed the wage issues of striking teachers,” Obi stated.
According to the Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nyesom Wike, the ICC renovation cost N35 billion, but additional spending reportedly pushed the figure to N39 billion.
Wike supervised the project and subsequently renamed the facility after President Tinubu.
Obi, who made a donation of over N6 million and computer equipment to Government Girls Secondary School in Chibok, Borno State—the same school where Boko Haram abducted schoolgirls in 2014—said the intervention was aimed at promoting computer literacy and creating a conducive learning environment.
He announced the donation during a brief event in Abuja, noting that it would have taken place in Chibok but for security warnings against travel to the area.
“This donation is about investing in our future. Anything done to promote education is a wise investment. The country is not safe if any part of it remains insecure.
The children of Chibok deserve the same opportunities as those anywhere else,” he added.
The donation included 10 laptop computers, two laser printers, a solar power system, a borehole project, and the establishment of a science laboratory.
Activist and Chibok girls advocate, Mrs. Aisha Yesufu, who facilitated the donation, said she reached out to Obi after receiving a request for help from the Chibok community on May 31.
She commended his swift response and commitment to education.
Receiving the equipment, community leader Mr. Dauda Iliya pledged that the items would be judiciously used for the benefit of the students.
Obi used the occasion to reiterate his call for the government to focus on people-centred development.
“Until we start investing in our children and their future, this country will continue to struggle. No nation develops by prioritising the comfort of the elite while ignoring the suffering of the masses,” he said.
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