Peter Obi, the 2027 presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), has criticised President Bola Tinubu’s administration over what he described as excessive borrowing and weak fiscal accountability.
In a statement posted on his X handle on Tuesday, Obi said Nigeria’s public debt has climbed to about N200 trillion, rising by more than N100 trillion in three years. He compared that with the roughly N49 trillion accumulated during former President Muhammadu Buhari’s eight years in office.
“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.
Obi, citing Budget Office figures, said the government borrowed N11.89 trillion in the first three quarters of 2025, exceeding the planned N10.34 trillion by about N1.54 trillion.
“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.
He also said only N3.10 trillion was spent on capital projects between January and September 2025, representing 17.66 per cent of the N17.58 trillion budgeted, leaving a gap of about N14.48 trillion.
“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’s debt has risen since Tinubu’s mid-2023 reforms, including the removal of fuel subsidies and the unification of the FX market. In May 2026, Tinubu disclosed that the country plans to spend about $11.6 billion on debt servicing in 2026.
