Presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), has urged the Federal Government to disclose the specifics of the purported allocation of N30 billion to each of the 36 state governors to mitigate inflation and the escalating cost of food items.
His call comes amidst assertions by the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, who referenced an “unverified report” indicating the disbursement aimed at addressing economic hardships and food insecurity across the states.
Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State refuted Akpabio’s assertion, stating that there was no truth to the claim of additional N30 billion allocations to states beyond their regular revenue shares.
In a statement shared on his X page handle on Friday, Obi emphasized the importance of transparency and good governance, urging the government to provide clarity on the disbursement details.
He stressed that such transparency would empower the masses to monitor and ensure the appropriate utilization of the funds for their intended purposes.
Obi also appealed to state governments to responsibly invest these resources in productive ventures, aiming to alleviate the current hardships faced by the populace.
“Recently, the Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio, announced that a staggering financial support of N1.1 trillion, amounting to a sum of N30 billion each was doled out to the state governors to help ameliorate the present hardship in the country.
“While the Federal Government is to be commended for offering such a huge support, considering the difficult times people are going through, it is pertinent, for the interest of good governance and transparency, that the details of the disbursement of such support be explained further, so that the public, the masses for whom the support is meant, can follow through and ensure that it is utilized appropriately to the benefit of the people.
“While waiting for such details, I appeal that concerted efforts should be made to ensure that the resources are genuinely and transparently invested in productive ventures to alleviate present hardship and help the future growth of the country,” he wrote.