Presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, Mr Peter Obi, has urged President Bola Tinubu to apply to the Federal Government the same advice he recently gave state governors on infrastructure development.
Obi said while the President’s warning against constructing unnecessary flyovers was commendable, the Federal Government was equally pursuing unrealistic and “white-elephant” projects despite the poor state of critical infrastructure across the country.
The former Anambra State governor made the remarks in a statement posted on his X account on Saturday, titled “Rehabilitate Existing Infrastructure Before Embarking on New Projects.”
According to Obi, he has consistently maintained that governments at all levels should prioritise rehabilitating existing infrastructure before initiating new projects that could eventually be abandoned.
He noted that although he had been criticised in the past for canvassing the position, Tinubu’s recent comments to governors had effectively validated his argument.
“The President is, in essence, saying what I have always maintained: government must prioritise projects that directly address the immediate needs of the people,” Obi said.
He added that those who had attacked him for expressing the same view should now direct similar criticism at the President.
Obi, however, argued that Tinubu’s admonition should not be limited to state governments.
According to him, the Federal Government is pursuing several unrealistic and costly projects while many major highways and other critical infrastructure remain in deplorable condition.
He stressed that, given the country’s current fiscal realities, priority should be placed on rehabilitating and completing existing infrastructure rather than embarking on expensive new projects with limited immediate benefits.
The NDC presidential candidate lamented that several highways linking commercial centres and food-producing communities had deteriorated into death traps, warning that neglecting such roads in favour of prestige projects was neither economically prudent nor people-centred.
Drawing from his experience as governor of Anambra State, Obi said his administration focused on completing viable projects inherited from previous governments before initiating new ones.
He maintained that government is a continuum and that development should be judged by the completion and usefulness of projects rather than by who initiated them.
Abandoned projects: Practise what you preach – Peter Obi tells Tinubu