₦airaland Forum

The 2027 presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, Peter Obi, has criticised President Bola Tinubu’s administration over what he described as excessive borrowing and poor fiscal accountability.

Obi said Nigeria’s total public debt has risen to about N200 trillion, which he attributed to what he called “imprudent governance” under the current administration.

He said the debt level represents an increase of over N100 trillion in three years, contrasting it with the approximately N49 trillion accumulated during the eight-year administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari

The former Labour Party presidential flagbearer in the 2023 election stated this in a statement posted on his X handle on Tuesday, saying the situation reflected a lack of accountability and transparency in the management of borrowed funds.

“President Bola Tinubu’s administration has engaged in remarkably imprudent borrowing, escalating Nigeria’s total debt to approximately N200 trillion. This represents an increase of over N100 trillion within a mere three years, a stark contrast to the roughly N49 trillion accumulated during President Muhammadu Buhari’s eight-year tenure, which would have projected to around N80 trillion.

“As millions of Nigerians grapple with the shock of this unsustainable debt accumulation, the situation is exacerbated by the government’s reckless approach to borrowing and a profound absence of accountability and transparency in the utilisation of these funds,” he said.

Citing figures from the Budget Office, Obi said the government borrowed N11.89 trillion in the first three quarters of 2025 (January to September), exceeding its planned borrowing target of N10.34 trillion by about N1.54 trillion.

He said such an overrun should ordinarily attract scrutiny and explanation from relevant authorities.

“Under a responsible and accountable government, such an overshoot would necessitate rigorous scrutiny and explanation from relevant governmental bodies. Regrettably, this is not the reality under the current administration,” he said

Obi further claimed that only N3.10 trillion of the borrowed funds was allocated to capital expenditure during the January–September 2025 period, representing 17.66 per cent of the N17.58 trillion earmarked for capital projects, leaving a funding gap of about N14.48 trillion.

He questioned how the remaining funds were utilised.

“The most disturbing aspect of the financial management fiasco under Bola Tinubu is that there is no explanation or information regarding how the balance was utilised or deployed.

“The question that Nigerians are rightly asking and deserve an answer to is what happened to the balance? Was it deployed for recurrent expenditure/consumption, for the entertainment of guests to Aso Rock or transferred to the Renewed Hope Agenda 2027 Election Campaign Fund?

“Nigerians deserve an answer on how our economy and resources are most unpatriotically managed,” he said.

Nigeria has faced mounting debt pressures since the Tinubu administration’s major reforms began in mid-2023, including the removal of long-standing fuel subsidies and unification of the foreign exchange market.

These moves aimed to correct fiscal distortions but triggered immediate inflation spikes, naira volatility, and higher living costs, while increasing the local-currency burden of debt servicing.

Tinubu had disclosed in May 2026 that Nigeria plans to spend about $11.6 billion on debt servicing in 2026.

While supporters of the government argue that borrowings support critical infrastructure, critics warn of a debt without growth trap.

insidelife22:
The builder of Lagos can no longer build anything apart from lies and propaganda.

yarimo:
and the same obi have never live in anambra state for 24 hours even as incumbent governor, always in TINUBU Lagos state

Ironfaceman:
I guess supporters will say his building Lagos to calabar road. But fail to to ask at what cost.

My guess is that 2027 elections is around corner.
And money is needed to buy votes.

Come to think of it

200 trillion ÷200 million=1 million
So each Nigerian owes 1 million naira.

DoTheNeedful:
Obi is not being honest with his presentation of Nigeria's debt. The fact is that Nigeria still has one of the lowest debt to GDP in Africa and in the world.

In all my life, I have known our debt both local and foreign to be presented in dollars. Obi and some opposition figures, knowing that our debt is not outrageous, intentionally convert the debt to naira to sensationalize the figures and scare people.

The funny thing is the the same people would convert the minimum wage back to dollars to make people see how small it is.

There are so many things about Tinubu's government that the opposition can criticize. Going to the extent of converting figures from naira to dollar and dollar to naira, depending on the argument they want to make, is low. It shows they don't have much to criticize, and they are just playing cheap politics.

yarimo:
and the same obi have never live in anambra state for 24 hours even as incumbent governor, always in TINUBU Lagos state

benardtotti:
I would have answered you,but this guy onX has done a good job of schooling you and your fraud of a candidate.

DoTheNeedful:
Obi is not being honest with his presentation of Nigeria's debt. The fact is that Nigeria still has one of the lowest debt to GDP in Africa and in the world.

In all my life, I have known our debt both local and foreign to be presented in dollars. Obi and some opposition figures, knowing that our debt is not outrageous, intentionally convert the debt to naira to sensationalize the figures and scare people.

The funny thing is the the same people would convert the minimum wage back to dollars to make people see how small it is.

There are so many things about Tinubu's government that the opposition can criticize. Going to the extent of converting figures from naira to dollar and dollar to naira, depending on the argument they want to make, is low. It shows they don't have much to criticize, and they are just playing cheap politics.

Ironfaceman:
that your data boy has lost his mind. Record of Tinubu’s borrowing is not hidden.

Let me school you. Type how many times Tinubu has borrowed money and see for yourself.

Ironfaceman:
I guess supporters will say his building Lagos to calabar road. But fail to to ask at what cost.

My guess is that 2027 elections is around the corner.
And money is needed to buy votes.

Come to think of it

200 trillion ÷200 million=1 million
So each Nigerian owes 1 million naira.

Ironfaceman:
that your data boy has lost his mind. Record of Tinubu’s borrowing is not hidden.

Let me school you. Type how many times Tinubu has borrowed money and see for yourself.

DoTheNeedful:
Obi is not being honest with his presentation of Nigeria's debt. The fact is that Nigeria still has one of the lowest debt to GDP in Africa and in the world.

In all my life, I have known our debt both local and foreign to be presented in dollars. Obi and some opposition figures, knowing that our debt is not outrageous, intentionally convert the debt to naira to sensationalize the figures and scare people.

The funny thing is the the same people would convert the minimum wage back to dollars to make people see how small it is.

There are so many things about Tinubu's government that the opposition can criticize. Going to the extent of converting figures from naira to dollar and dollar to naira, depending on the argument they want to make, is low. It shows they don't have much to criticize, and they are just playing cheap politics.