The 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has raised strong doubts over the Federal Government’s claim that it disbursed more than ₦1 trillion to Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Nigeria since 2015.
Speaking through a statement on 𝕏 (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday, Obi insisted that most Nigerians were not even aware of such funding, despite its supposed magnitude.
He pointed out that over 80 per cent of Nigerians are unaware of the Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) — the institution that released the report on the disbursement. According to him, the level of public awareness and transparency is directly tied to the effectiveness of any government-backed financial intervention.
“I recently read a report from the DBN stating that it has disbursed over ₦1 trillion to MSMEs in Nigeria since 2015. By simple conversion, this amounts to more than $1 billion,” Obi said.
He further explained that if the claim were true, the impact should be visible on the ground.
“If $1 billion were disbursed in small loans averaging about $1,000 each, at least one million small businesses could have been supported. But how can such a huge sum be disbursed and yet ordinary Nigerians feel no impact?”
Obi stressed that empowerment cannot remain a mere slogan or campaign promise but must be measured by real results — jobs created, businesses established, and poverty reduced.
He then posed a series of unanswered questions:
- Who exactly were the beneficiaries?
- What tangible businesses were created?
- Where is the proof of jobs generated?
- How much poverty was actually reduced?
Without verifiable answers, Obi said, the claim of ₦1 trillion disbursed remains a “grand deception” that only benefits a small circle of elites under the guise of empowerment schemes.
He concluded by urging Nigerians to demand transparency and accountability, insisting that the people deserve evidence that such large funds are being invested in their lives and future, and not lost to corruption or buried in empty statistics.
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