The former governor of Anambra State, Mr. Peter Obi, has warned that unless Nigeria cuts down its high cost of governance, there may be no quantum leap in economic development.
Mr. Obi spoke during the fourth annual conference of the People Expertise and Excellence Foundation (PEEF) held virtually.
He said while he governed Anambra, he reduced the cost of running his office from about 30 per cent to 4%.
“This is time to cut the cost of governance. The current cost of governance is unacceptable.
We need to cut the cost and invest in critical infrastructure.”
He called for the integration of experienced professionals in governance presently while huge investment in education must be made.
“We have to invest in education aggressively and work hard to reduce poverty and ensure things are doing properly.”
On the #EndSARS protest, the former governor said the unrest speaks to the leadership failures over the years.
He said Nigeria’s budget on health from 2015 to date is about $4.7 billion even when South Africa had $7.1bn for health in just 2019.
He also said the COVID-19 stimulus package was less than what should be for the population, adding that India is doing a $300bn stimulus package, Indonesia did $65bn, Bangladesh has over $15bn but Nigeria has about $5.5bn.
Still in Africa, Obi said South Africa has $26bn and $5.5bn in SME alone while Egypt is doing $12bn.
Dr. Aminu Gamawa, the Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning in Bauchi State, said policies must be institutionalized for continuity sake.
“We must create a thriving private sector that creates more jobs, and an education system that crests jobs.”
