Peter Obi, the immediate past governor of Anambra State has blamed high cost of governance in Nigeria on the wasteful spending of government officials, which he noted does not add anything to the economic growth of the country.
Obi, who spoke at the World Bank Youth Forum interactive session yesterday, said he knew areas where money could be saved for the needy sectors of the economy, having served as governor for about eight years.
“What contributed to my success as the governor of Anambra State was because I decided at great personal discomfort, to shut down areas that were not necessary, which helped us to reduce the cost of governance.
“Generally, governance costs so much in Nigeria and if our leaders are able to reduce the money spent in unnecessary things such as keeping many guests houses, keeping many aides that are not necessary, keeping long convoys, staying in costliest hotels, chartering planes when not absolutely necessary, servicing politicians that do not add value to the society, engaging in Epicurean life, among other indulgences, they will have enough money to do the necessary things.”
Obi also stressed the importance of youth to the growth of the nation.
According to him, any country that wants a future must take care of her youth.
He therefore urged members of the World Bank Youth Forum to remain focused about their future and the future of the country.
Obi explained that any country that is serious about its future will invest in education. He said that was why his administration when he was governor decided to return schools to the missionary and gave them money to rehabilitate those schools, after noticing the rot in Nigeria’s education system.
“Due to what I call toll gates on the way, I insisted that assistance to schools by development partners should go straight to the schools. We did so many other things, including provision of buses, computers, Internets, generators, sick bays, laboratory equipment, among others to all the public and Church-owned schools. The result is clearly manifesting as Anambra took first in WAEC and NECO examinations,” he said.
