By Myke Uzendu, Abuja
The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) for the 2027 general election, Peter Obi, has renewed his call for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to resign, alleging that the growing corruption scandals under the current administration have reinforced his earlier position that the President should step aside.
In a statement issued on Sunday by the spokesman of the Peter Obi Media Reach (POMR), Idris Ekeri Jnr., Obi said recent allegations of financial mismanagement and corruption reflected what he described as a pattern of “grand corruption” under the Tinubu administration.
The former Anambra State governor, who had previously called on the President to resign over what he described as failure to improve the welfare of Nigerians, said the latest revelations had heightened concerns about governance and accountability.
Writing on his verified X handle, Obi said, “Grand corruption has become Nigeria’s greatest threat.”
He referred to what he described as findings from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) consultation report, alleging that about N8.83 trillion in government expenditure in 2025 was not reflected in the national budget.
According to him, the expenditure was outside legislative oversight and administrative scrutiny.
Obi said the unaccounted sum represented about two per cent of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and more than 35 per cent of the country’s 2025 capital budget of N23.96 trillion.
He further argued that the amount exceeded the total combined federal allocations to the education and health sectors, which he said stood at N3.52 trillion and N2.38 trillion, respectively.
“If such an amount were properly utilised and accounted for, it could transform Nigeria’s health and education sectors. It could also foster the creation of hundreds of small industries, creating jobs for thousands of graduates and laying a solid foundation for economic development. But we cannot account for it,” Obi stated.
The former governor maintained that the alleged financial irregularities were part of a broader pattern of corruption, which he said posed a serious threat to Nigeria’s economic stability, national security and democratic governance.
He accused the administration of failing to uphold due process in public finance management and alleged that the country’s resources were being mismanaged at a time of increasing poverty and widespread economic hardship.
According to Obi, a responsible government would have deployed such resources to improve infrastructure, strengthen social services and stimulate economic growth.
He insisted that the latest allegations further justified his earlier demand that President Tinubu resign over what he described as incompetence, lack of capacity, lack of compassion and failure to fulfil campaign promises.
Obi called on Nigerians to lawfully demand greater accountability from the government, expressing confidence that the country could still achieve better governance.
“A new Nigeria is possible,” he said.
