Former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has criticised the administration of President Bola Tinubu over what he described as excessive borrowing and a lack of transparency in the management of public funds, warning that Nigeria’s growing debt profile poses serious concerns for the country’s economic future.
In a statement posted on his official X account on Tuesday, Obi argued that the current administration has accumulated debt at an alarming rate, claiming that Nigeria’s total debt has risen to nearly N200 trillion.
According to him, the debt stock has increased by more than N100 trillion within three years, a pace he contrasted with the borrowing record of the immediate past administration under former President Muhammadu Buhari.
Obi described the trend as evidence of what he termed “imprudent governance,” stressing that Nigerians deserve clear explanations on how borrowed funds are being utilised.
He stated: “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.”
The former Anambra State governor further cited data from the Federation’s Budget Office, which he said showed that the Federal Government borrowed N11.89 trillion between January and September 2025, exceeding its planned borrowing target of N10.34 trillion by about N1.54 trillion.
He maintained that such a deviation from approved borrowing plans should ordinarily attract public scrutiny and detailed explanations from government officials.
“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,” Obi said.
Raising further concerns, Obi noted that only N3.10 trillion of the borrowed funds was reportedly spent on capital projects during the same period.
According to him, the amount represented just 17.66 per cent of the N17.58 trillion budgeted for capital expenditure, leaving a substantial funding gap.
“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 stated.
Obi questioned the destination of the remaining funds and called on the government to provide a detailed account of how the money was spent.
“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?”
He added: “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.”
The former presidential candidate concluded by reiterating his call for prudent economic management and accountability in governance.
“A New and Productive Nigeria is POssible, and Nigeria will be OK!” he said.