Former Anambra State governor and 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has urged Nigerian accountants especially women to take the lead in curbing reckless government borrowing and wasteful public spending.

Obi made the call on Wednesday in Lagos during the investiture of Blessing Ngozi Osakwe as the 12th president of the Society of Women Accountants of Nigeria (SWAN). He cautioned that unchecked financial mismanagement was mortgaging the future of younger generations.

“We are borrowing and spending away the future of our children. This recklessness must stop. You, as professionals, must hold those in power accountable,” Obi warned.

Drawing from his background in both banking and governance, Obi underscored the critical role of female professionals in ensuring fiscal discipline. He recalled how, as a bank chairman, a female risk manager helped avert costly errors, and how during his tenure as governor, two female accountant-generals and a female finance commissioner enforced prudence in public finance.

“Women accountants have the integrity and courage to demand fiscal discipline where others might compromise,” he said, urging SWAN members to speak truth to power and insist on transparency in governance.

Describing the present moment as crucial for Nigeria’s economic survival, Obi reaffirmed his optimism about the country’s future.
“A new Nigeria is not just a dream; it is possible,” he declared.