Presidential candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has accused President Bola Tinubu’s administration of reckless borrowing, alleging that Nigeria’s public debt has ballooned to nearly N200 trillion within three years without corresponding accountability or visible economic impact.
In a statement on Monday, Obi expressed concern over what he described as an alarming debt trajectory, noting that the country’s debt stock had increased by more than N100 trillion since Tinubu assumed office in 2023.
According to him, the pace of borrowing under the current administration far exceeds that of former President Muhammadu Buhari’s eight-year tenure, during which Nigeria’s debt rose to about N49 trillion.
Obi further cited data from the Budget Office of the Federation, which showed that the Federal Government borrowed N11.89 trillion between January and September 2025, surpassing its projected borrowing target of N10.34 trillion by N1.54 trillion.
Obi argued that in a transparent and accountable system, such an overshoot would trigger serious scrutiny and public explanation from relevant government agencies.
He added; “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?”
The former Anambra State governor also questioned the utilisation of the borrowed funds, pointing out that only N3.10 trillion was spent on capital projects during the same period.
“Out of the N17.58 trillion budgeted for capital expenditure, only N3.10 trillion was released, leaving a funding gap of N14.48 trillion, representing over 82 per cent of the planned capital spending,” he said.
Obi described the lack of clarity surrounding the deployment of the remaining borrowed funds as troubling, insisting that Nigerians deserve a full account of how the money was spent.
“The most disturbing aspect of this borrowing spree is the absence of transparency on where the funds went. Nigerians have a right to know whether these resources were spent on productive investments, recurrent expenditure, or other purposes entirely,” he stated.
He maintained that the nation’s worsening debt profile, coupled with limited investment in infrastructure and development projects, raises serious concerns about fiscal discipline and economic management under the Tinubu administration.
