The 8th Annual Public lecture organised by the Foursquare Gospel Church Nigeria in Lagos ahead of the Church’s 66th Annual Convention 2021 turned out to be a platform to interrogate unnecessary government expenditures that have put the country’s economy in a bad shape.
Speakers at the occasion also harped on youth’s restiveness, citing unemployment and inadequate investment in education among other things as some of the challenges fuelling insecurity in the country.
The event themed: ‘National Security Challenges: Youth Neglect?’ featured Mr. Peter Obi, a former governor of Anambra State, as lead speaker alongside Prof Mrs Cecilia Oladapo of University of Lagos as second speaker while John Momoh, CEO, Channels TV was Chairman. Others include Dr. Kayode Fayemi, governor of Ekiti State, represented by Hon Oladapo Jinadu and governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, represented by Miss Mosunmola Sasore.
The Former Governor, in his incisive lecture, did not mince word in querying the rationale behind the establishment of the office of the First Ladies in Nigeria, adding that it is an outright waste of national resources, while canvassing for the scraping of the same office.
“The cost of governance in Nigeria is too much, bigger than that of any other country in the world. Why do we have to have the office of a first lady that has to be allotted a budget of about N4 billion to run?
To face the reality, nobody voted for my wife when I was a governor which is the same with all other current incumbents, including the president of the country. Then, how can she have an office when we are happily married and are covered under my disposition as a governor of a State?
How can we buy about 20 vehicles for a First Lady whose duty is not enshrined in our constitution with huge number of special advisers, and other official staff on the government pay roll?,” he stated.
