Our Reporter, Abuja
Former Anambra State Governor and 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi, has congratulated Nigeria’s First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, on her 65th birthday.
In a statement on Monday, Obi described the First Lady as a woman of grace and strength, wishing her many more years of good health and fruitful service to the nation.
He, however, noted that her recent appeal for donations “instead of cakes or newspaper adverts from well-wishers” toward completing the National Library in Abuja amounted to a subtle indictment on the nation.
Obi lamented that successive administrations had failed to complete the project, more than two decades after it was initiated, describing it as a national embarrassment.
The former governor further admonished the Tinubu administration over what he called its wasteful spending on luxury projects while the knowledge industry remains abandoned.
According to him, “It is unacceptable that in a country battling poverty, hunger, and unemployment, resources are being channeled into luxury items instead of investing in education and critical national assets. The National Library is a treasure that should have been completed long ago. The continued neglect is indefensible.”
“That is why it is shocking that, in our present circumstances, while billions are easily found for jets, yachts, unused mansions, endless trips abroad, and other frivolities, the nation must rely on birthday donations to complete its own National Library.”
