Peter Obi has described the renovation of the Abuja International Conference Centre as misplaced priority.
Mr Obi said this while announcing a donation of 10 laptops, money and other items to Chibok community leaders in Abuja on Wednesday.
“One wonders why we live in a nation where our students don’t have labs, books, or even pencils, while our leaders live in opulence, spending billions to renovate conference centres, build car parks, and furnish new lodges of international standards,” the former presidential candidate stated.
Describing his donation as commitment to the future of the country, Mr Obi said lack of necessary teaching and learning materials in schools was disturbing, questioning Nigeria’s priorities and exemplifying the rising costs of misgovernance.
“I presented them with 10 laptops and 3 printers as a start. I also donated the sum of ₦2 million each towards providing some items for the lab, the computer classroom, and a handheld motorised borehole, totalling ₦6 million. I promised to do more and made it clear to them that what I was doing was not a donation, but a sincere commitment and a promise to the future of our community,” he added.
The opposition politician urged President Bola Tinubu’s government to pay attention to critical areas of development and pulling Nigerians out of poverty.
“I continue to plead on behalf of all of us that the time has come for self-examination. We must prioritise critical areas of development, education, healthcare, and pulling our people out of poverty,” Mr Obi said.
On Tuesday, FCT ninister Nyesom Wike renamed the centre after Mr Tinubu.
Mr Wike also said several halls in the centre were renamed after prominent politicians including Vice-President Kashim Shettima, Senate President Goodwill Akpabio and Speaker Tajudeen Abbas.
“It is important for the public to understand and to know why today, this is called the Bola Ahmed Tinubu International Conference Centre. This conference centre was built in 1991 under the military government. Since that time, nothing has happened to this International Conference Centre,” the minister added.
