By Myke Uzendu
The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has expressed concern over Nigeria’s rising debt profile, questioning how funds borrowed by the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu have been utilised amid worsening economic hardship and insecurity.
In a statement posted on his X account on Tuesday, Obi alleged that Nigeria’s total public debt has climbed to nearly N200 trillion under the current administration, describing the borrowing trend as excessive and lacking sufficient accountability.
The former Anambra State governor claimed that the nation’s debt stock had increased by more than N100 trillion within three years, which he said was significantly higher than the debt accumulated during the eight years of former President Muhammadu Buhari.
“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,” Obi said.
He argued that the growing debt burden has heightened concerns among Nigerians already struggling with inflation, rising living costs and other economic challenges.
Obi also questioned the transparency surrounding the government’s borrowing activities, insisting that citizens deserve a clear explanation of how the funds have been spent.
Citing figures from the Federation’s Budget Office, he alleged that the Federal Government borrowed N11.89 trillion between January and September 2025, surpassing its projected borrowing target of N10.34 trillion by about N1.54 trillion.
According to him, such a deviation from approved borrowing plans should ordinarily attract detailed scrutiny and explanations from the relevant authorities.
“For instance, data from the Federation’s Budget Office reveals that the Bola Tinubu government borrowed N11.89 trillion in the first three quarters of 2025, exceeding the planned borrowing target by about N1.54 trillion. Under a responsible government, such an overshoot would necessitate rigorous scrutiny and explanation,” he stated.
Obi further questioned the link between the borrowed funds and capital project implementation, alleging that only a small portion of the loans was channelled into infrastructure and development projects.
He claimed that only N3.10 trillion was spent on capital expenditure during the first nine months of 2025, representing about 17.66 per cent of the N17.58 trillion budgeted for capital projects.
According to him, the figures suggest a funding gap of approximately N14.48 trillion, raising questions about the deployment of the remaining funds.
