Abuja, August 2025 – Former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has strongly criticised the Federal Government’s approval of N142 billion for the construction of modern bus terminals across Nigeria’s six geo-political zones.

 

The approval was granted during the recent Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, but Obi, in a statement on his X (formerly Twitter) account, described the move as “another evidence of misplaced priority” by President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

 

According to him, the hallmark of any nation’s progress lies in how leaders prioritise scarce resources. He argued that allocating N142 billion to bus terminals, while the combined budget of all federal university teaching hospitals and psychiatric centres in the country is under N100 billion, reflects “lack of competence, lack of focus, and poor leadership.”

 

Obi warned that the decision undermines critical sectors such as healthcare, which he noted is already underfunded and deteriorating. He cited the World Health Organization’s recent report that over 20 million Nigerians are living with mental health issues, stressing that investing in hospitals and mental health facilities should have taken precedence over bus terminals.

 

“This is not only a misplaced priority but a tragic irony of our country,” Obi stated. “This is not governance. A New Nigeria is possible.”