Former presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, has strongly criticised President Bola Tinubu’s borrowing spree, calling it reckless, unsustainable, and dangerous for Nigeria’s future.
Obi’s reaction followed the Senate’s fresh approval of a massive $21 billion, €2.2 billion, and ¥15 billion loan for the 2025–2026 fiscal cycle, alongside domestic bonds and grants. This pushes Nigeria’s total public debt to an alarming N187 trillion, with projections that it could surpass N200 trillion before 2025 ends.
Taking to his X (formerly Twitter) account, Obi expressed deep concern:
“We are accumulating very exponential levels of unsustainable debt with little or nothing to show for it in education, healthcare, electricity, or poverty reduction.”
He broke down the numbers, explaining that before Nigeria’s GDP was rebased to N372.8 trillion ($243.7 billion), the government had borrowed almost 70% of the country’s old GDP. Even with the rebasing, the debt stands at over 50% of GDP—the highest in the nation’s history.
Obi lamented that despite the debt and increased spending—particularly in security, which rose from N2.98 trillion in 2023 to N4.91 trillion in 2025—Nigerians are still grappling with worsening insecurity. He cited reports showing over 10,000 people killed and 672 villages destroyed in just two years.
He didn’t stop there. He highlighted Nigeria’s massive infrastructure deficit—over 135,000 km of roads still unpaved, near-collapse of the power sector, and devastating health statistics, such as 652 children dying from malnutrition in Northern Nigeria.
Quoting the recent alert from Doctors Without Borders (MSF), Obi asked:
“How can a country so rich in resources allow its citizens to starve?”
He stressed that borrowing is not evil, but doing so without productivity, transparency, or a measurable plan is just saddling future generations with debt they didn’t cause.
Obi called for a return to disciplined economic management, responsible leadership, and investments that directly benefit Nigerians.
“Every kobo borrowed must deliver measurable impact,” he said. “This level of fiscal indiscipline must stop. It’s time to build a New Nigeria where leaders are accountable, and development is people-centred.”
He ended with his signature line:
“A New Nigeria is POssible.”
