₦airaland Forum

On July 22, 2025, the Nigerian Senate approved an additional $21 billion, €2.2 billion, ¥15 billion of external borrowing for the 2025–2026 fiscal cycle. It also approved a N750.98 billion domestic bond issuance and a €65 65million grant. With an already existing public debt of about N149.39 trillion as at the first quarter of 2025, adding the approved loans of about N37.2 trillion) brings our current total debt to about N187 trillion with concerns that our debt might likely be over N200 trillion by the end of 2025.

As our GDP before rebasing was about N269.2 trillion (about $180 billion), the government has borrowed the equivalent of nearly 70% of our previous GDP. Even after the rebasing, which pushed our GDP to about N372.8 trillion (about $243. 7billion), the government would have borrowed about 50.16 % of the new GDP (with the approved loans), the highest debt-to-GDP ratio in our history as a nation.

While the year-on-year increase is about N27.72 trillion and the quarter-on-quarter increase is about N4.72 trillion, we are accumulating very exponential levels of unsustainable debt with little or nothing to show for it in critical areas such as education, healthcare, electricity generation, security of lives and property, and pulling people out of poverty.

We still rank low in all major human development indicators. While education is underfunded and standard in continuous decline, healthcare remains inaccessible to millions of Nigerians particularly the poor. Security of lives and property has deteriorated with over 10,217 people killed and 672 villages sacked between May 29th 2023, and May 29th 2025, even when security spending has significantly increased from N2.98 trillion in 2023 to N4.91 trillion in 2025. Infrastructure decay persists across the country, with about 135,000km of our 195,000km of roads remaining unpaved, largely unmotorable, and unusable. It is the same depressing situation in almost all sectors of the economy, with the power sector an unquestionable example, with less than 5,000 MW supplied for over 200 million Nigerians.

Today, over two years after the present government took over and with all the humongous borrowing, we are still confronted with negative reports of worsening poverty with about 133 million (63%) Nigerians classified as multi-dimensionally poor, increasing unemployment and disheartening news like 652 children dead as the malnutrition crisis worsens in Northern Nigeria.

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), also known as Doctors Without Borders, has just sounded the alarm over an escalating malnutrition crisis in Northern Nigeria, with Katsina State emerging as one of the worst-hit areas.

This is a country blessed with enormous resources, yet nobody should go to bed hungry. Still, a persistent deficiency in leadership has thrown the majority of our citizens into increasing multi-dimensional poverty.

Borrowing is not inherently bad if it is sustainable and tied to productive investments with measurable outcomes. Unfortunately, this current pattern of borrowing without accountability, without transparency, and without transformational impact is simply mortgaging the future of our children. The government should consider the inter-generational consequences of their unsustainable borrowings and show at least a minimum consideration and interest in future of young and unborn Nigerians.

We must return to a disciplined and prudent economic management culture, cutting the cost of governance, blocking leakages, investing in human capital, and building a productive economy. Nigeria cannot continue to borrow recklessly while poverty deepens and public trust erodes.

It is time to stop this fiscal indiscipline. We must build a New Nigeria, where leadership is responsible, development is people-centred, and every kobo borrowed or spent delivers a measurable impact to achieve sustainable and inclusive development and growth.

A new Nigeria is POssible.

-PO

asfrank:
Obi wouldn't do anything different if he is president. Being in opposition means you have to disagree with everything the government of the day does, if you give them credit then there's no point seeking to replace them.
There's no government that functions without borrowing. His main selling point is they he governored Anambra without borrowing (allegedly) question now is how is the state doing now in the longterm, years after he left office? If you are bold today, future generations will reap the rewards.
I expect attack from his hounds any moment from now...

asfrank:
Obi wouldn't do anything different if he is president. Being in opposition means you have to disagree with everything the government of the day does, if you give them credit then there's no point seeking to replace them.
There's no government that functions without borrowing. His main selling point is they he governored Anambra without borrowing (allegedly) question now is how is the state doing now in the longterm, years after he left office? If you are bold today, future generations will reap the rewards.
I expect attack from his hounds any moment from now...

etokhana:
https://x.com/PeterObi/status/1950093432279511403?t=jx23pkW8gf8O2CEWM5Bw-g&s=19[/quote]Obi should stop telling lies against the president.

Ebilokan has not been borrowing money since he squeezed out $84 billion from us in subsidy savings and hiked fuel price.

ManirBK:
Aug 28, 2023
The Federal Government says it has no intention to borrow from any local or foreign organisation with its removal of subsidy on petrol and exchange rate harmonisation.

The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Chief Wale Edun, revealed this at the end of the inaugural Federal Executive Council meeting on Monday in Abuja.

He said that the benefit of the subsidy removal would be ploughed back into various sectors aimed at boosting government revenue and improving the business environment for local and foreign investment.

Edun said that with the increased revenue from subsidy removal, various palliatives have been made available to cushion its effect on a short, medium and long-term basis.

He reiterated the President Bola Tinubu-led administration’s desire to bring back the economy from the wood it has found itself over time.

https://www.vanguardngr.com/2023/08/fg-ends-borrowing-finance-minister/amp/

helinues:
If they asked Peter Obi how much money have been borrowed, how much have been serviced as debt, he can never have answer to that. Even his supporters can't.

Peter Obi now react to issues for reacting sake, not necessary for his reactions to be sensible, reasonable or logical .

I also want to say something mentality...

Saclicall:
Really? See comment from a supposedly sane person.

Even his supporters can't

asfrank:
Obi wouldn't do anything different if he is president. Being in opposition means you have to disagree with everything the government of the day does, if you give them credit then there's no point seeking to replace them.
There's no government that functions without borrowing. His main selling point is they he governored Anambra without borrowing (allegedly) question now is how is the state doing now in the longterm, years after he left office? If you are bold today, future generations will reap the rewards.
I expect attack from his hounds any moment from now...

asfrank:
Obi wouldn't do anything different if he is president. Being in opposition means you have to disagree with everything the government of the day does, if you give them credit then there's no point seeking to replace them.
There's no government that functions without borrowing. His main selling point is they he governored Anambra without borrowing (allegedly) question now is how is the state doing now in the longterm, years after he left office? If you are bold today, future generations will reap the rewards.
I expect attack from his hounds any moment from now...

helinues:
.

its so sure for us ni that both the principal and the supporters don't even have much details about most of what their arguments have been all about

Our work till 2027 is just to be pointing those flaws out for Nigerians to see as those who are claiming to be replacement don't have any solution to anything

Richtaiwo:
It is gringory that is always opening his mouth on everything even the ones beyond his knowledge and capabilities. But when the people he is indirectly talking to decide to respond, his lapdog will start screaming everywhere that they are always talking about gringory.

Now he has accused the president of something he is not qualified to handle, when the presidency respond, they around deluding themselves that gringory is a headache to the ruling party being the reason his matter is always discussed. Very funny people.

asfrank:
Obi wouldn't do anything different if he is president. Being in opposition means you have to disagree with everything the government of the day does, if you give them credit then there's no point seeking to replace them.
There's no government that functions without borrowing. His main selling point is they he governored Anambra without borrowing (allegedly) question now is how is the state doing now in the longterm, years after he left office? If you are bold today, future generations will reap the rewards.
I expect attack from his hounds any moment from now...

Dantatanazzy007:
See people wey me and them dey d same naija ... Kai it's well