CALABAR– The United Nations Missions in Nigeria have expressed deep concern over the growing trend among some Nigerian state governments including Cross River State to prioritize lavish spending on Government Houses while neglecting pressing developmental needs that directly impact the lives of citizens.
Cross River State, under the administration of Governor Bassey Otu, reportedly allocated a staggering ₦1.6 billion between April and June 2024 to renovate the Governor’s Office and Lodge. According to an investigative report by Sahara Reporters (July 27, 2024), ₦1.1 billion was spent on the governor’s office, while ₦500 million went into renovating the lodge.
Further investigations by The Paradise News (January 3, 2025) revealed that a total of ₦2 billion was spent throughout 2024 on the governor’s residence alone. Despite this heavy expenditure, the 2025 state budget allocated yet another ₦100 million for renovations and ₦100 million for furnishing bringing the total cost of upgrades to the Government House to over ₦2.2 billion in less than two years.
In response to this trend, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, during a roundtable held in Abuja, stated:
“At a time when millions of Nigerians are living in poverty and lack access to basic services, the prioritization of opulent state residencies over education, healthcare, and water infrastructure sends a deeply worrying signal.”
Budget transparency advocates, including TrackaNG and BudgIT Foundation, have also flagged Cross River State’s spending as disproportionately skewed toward administrative luxury over public welfare. According to their monitoring reports, allocations to education, healthcare, and water resources in the same budget cycle were significantly lower compared to the funds committed to Government House renovations.
A report by Rifnote.com (January 4, 2025) criticized the allocation pattern as a “misplaced priority”, especially for a state with limited internally generated revenue (IGR), massive debt, and visible infrastructural decay across its rural and urban communities.
Gross Neglect of Education and Infrastructure
Cross River State’s current administration has come under increasing scrutiny for its poor investment in education, particularly at the primary and secondary levels. Despite public outcry, there has been no strategic funding plan or renovation of public schools, with classrooms in many LGAs remaining overcrowded, under-equipped, and dilapidated.
The last notable effort to build modern schools in the state dates back to the administration of Senator Liyel Imoke, although many of the projects were marred by substandard execution and poor contract supervision.
Of equal concern is the state of the University of Cross River State (UNICROSS). Since its inception and subsequent renaming, there is no known major infrastructure academic or administrative attributed to direct state government funding. The university continues to operate with inherited structures from its polytechnic era, while expansion, equipment, and faculty welfare remain neglected.
Additionally, major roads such as the Calabar-Itu Road and the Akamkpa-Biase corridor are in deplorable conditions, with little or no visible state intervention despite their economic significance to Cross River’s agricultural and timber-producing communities.
Critics have condemned the Governor’s heavy spending on self-comfort as tone-deaf and detached from the realities of the people, especially in rural areas that lack access to clean water, quality education, and functional healthcare.
“Development cannot be achieved through bricks and chandeliers in state houses, but through direct investments in people,” the UN representative emphasized.
A Call for Fiscal Discipline and Public Accountability
The UN Missions have called on Nigerian states particularly those like Cross River to reorient public spending priorities. Emphasis was placed on transparency, fiscal responsibility, and citizen-focused budgeting, especially in states with high poverty indexes and declining human development indicators.
As Cross River State prepares for another budget cycle, the people and development partners alike await whether future allocations will reflect genuine developmental intent or continue to indulge political vanity projects at the expense of public good.
