The decision by several Nigerian state governors to channel nearly N200 billion into office renovations amid a worsening social services crisis is ill-timed and deeply irresponsible.
Development Diaries reports that nearly every state, from the northwest to the southwest and the southeast to the northeast, is investing heavily in office refurbishment projects, according to a report by The Guardian.
According to the report, Oyo State plans to spend N63.5 billion while Gombe and Bauchi spent N43.1 billion and N16.1 billion respectively in 2023.
Three states in the nation would have spent N122.7 billion on the extravagance in just three years if the Oyo State Government, which is under a lot of criticism for a large office remodelling project, were to proceed regardless of the consequences of its plan.
At a time when the country is battling an infrastructure deficit estimated at $30 trillion, according to Moody’s, such wasteful spending on aesthetics rather than substance signals a gross misplacement of priorities.
Office face-lifts in states like Oyo, Gombe, and Bauchi, with Oyo alone proposing to spend N63.5 billion, are a slap in the face to millions of citizens enduring dilapidated schools, under-equipped hospitals, and collapsing roads.
These funds, if redirected, could significantly upgrade public infrastructure and improve the quality of life for many.
According to the report, the allocations to health and education this year paint a grim picture of systemic neglect. States earmarked only N6.05 trillion – a paltry 21.7 percent of their combined N27.87 trillion budgets, for these vital sectors.
Specifically, education is allocated N3.83 trillion (13.74 per cent), while health receives just N2.22 trillion (eight per cent).
These figures fall short of global benchmarks and reflect a long-standing disregard for the sectors that build human capital.
Nigeria continues to lose doctors and teachers to countries with better working conditions, while children study in overcrowded classrooms or under trees, and patients die due to lack of basic medical care.
To compound the crisis, low budget performance in capital spending further undermines the little progress made. Even the modest allocations to health and education are often underutilised, with many states recording less than 50 percent implementation.
This chronic inefficiency, coupled with the diversion of funds to recurrent expenditures, leaves schools without chalk and hospitals without drugs, effectively sabotaging any hope for long-term economic and social development. Meanwhile, lavish renovation projects proceed with questionable urgency and little transparency.
The actions of these governors demonstrate a troubling disconnect from the realities of their constituents. Instead of using public resources to solve pressing problems, they choose optics over impact.
Citizens are watching, and growing discontent will only deepen if state governments continue to invest in luxury while ignoring the very services that uplift society.
Development Diaries calls on state governors to resist the urge to turn government houses into five-star resorts while schools crumble, hospitals gasp for life, and roads resemble obstacle courses. It is time to shift focus from painting walls to fixing lives.
We also call on citizens to demand budgets that serve the people, not the egos and call for governance that renovates realities, not just ceilings.
