Presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 general elections, Peter Obi, has called for a review of the 2025 budget, berating President Bola Tinubu for excluding North Central Region Commission allocation from the document.

Mr Obi said in a statement posted on his X account on Wednesday that the exclusion of the North Central Regional Commission from the budgetary allocations provided to other regional commissions in the 2025 proposed budget was deeply troubling and must be urgently reversed.

He said, “Such an anomaly does not even make for even development and peace that is needed for progress in the country.”

Mr Obi noted that “A total of N2.493 trillion has been allocated to five regional development commissions.”

According to Mr Obi, the North-Central region requires special attention due to the severe challenges it currently faces. Terror attacks and banditry in Plateau, Benue, Kogi, and Niger states have caused immense suffering, resulting in significant loss of lives and forcing countless families into internally displaced persons camps. These persistent tragedies have made the North-Central one of the most affected and vulnerable regions in Nigeria.

Last December, Mr Tinubu presented N47.90trn 2025 budget before the National Assembly for legislative process and passage.