The 2027 presidential candidate of the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has slammed President Bola Tinubu’s administration for engaging in remarkably imprudent borrowing, escalating Nigeria’s total debt to approximately N200 trillion.
According to him, 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.
In a statement on Tuesday, Obi said that as millions of Nigerians grapple with the shock of this unsustainable accumulation of debt, 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.
Giving an instance, he said data from the Federation’s Budget Office reveals that the Tinubu government borrowed N11.89 trillion in the first three quarters of 2025 (January to September), exceeding the planned borrowing target of N10.34 trillion by approximately N1.54 trillion. “Under a responsible and accountable government, such an overshoot would necessitate rigorous scrutiny and explanation from relevant governmental bodies.
“Compounding this issue, only N3.10 trillion of the borrowed funds was allocated to capital expenditure during the same January-September 2025 period. This constitutes a mere 17.66% of the N17.58 trillion earmarked for capital projects, leaving a deficit of roughly N14.48 trillion, or 82.34% of planned capital expenditure unfunded.”
He said the most disturbing aspect of the financial management fiasco under Tinubu is that there is no explanation or information regarding how the balance was utilised or deployed. He said Nigerians deserve an answer to 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,” Obi said.
