By Chimezie Godfrey
The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) in the 2027 election, Peter Obi, has challenged President Bola Tinubu’s administration to provide a detailed account of the utilisation of borrowed funds, expressing concern over what he described as excessive borrowing and a lack of transparency in public financial management.
Obi, in a statement posted on his X handle on Tuesday, raised questions about the rising debt profile of the country under the current administration, alleging that Nigeria’s total public debt has climbed to about N200 trillion within three years of President Tinubu’s tenure.
According to him, the increase represents more than N100 trillion in additional debt, which he contrasted with the debt accumulated during the eight-year administration 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, which would have projected to around N80 trillion,” Obi stated.
The former Anambra State governor expressed concern that the rising debt burden comes at a time when many Nigerians are facing economic hardship, adding that the situation is worsened by what he described as inadequate accountability regarding the deployment of borrowed funds.
Citing data from the Federation’s Budget Office, Obi alleged that the Federal Government borrowed N11.89 trillion between January and September 2025, exceeding the planned borrowing target of N10.34 trillion by about N1.54 trillion.
He argued that such a development should ordinarily attract scrutiny and public explanation from relevant government agencies.
“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.
Obi further claimed that only N3.10 trillion of the borrowed funds was committed to capital expenditure during the same period, representing 17.66 per cent of the N17.58 trillion budgeted for capital projects.
According to him, this leaves approximately N14.48 trillion, or 82.34 per cent of planned capital expenditure, unfunded.
“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,” Obi stated.
He called on the Federal Government to explain how the funds were spent, insisting that Nigerians deserve full disclosure on the management of public resources.
“The question that Nigerians are rightly asking and deserve an answer to is what happened to the balance? Nigerians deserve an answer on how our economy and resources are managed,” he added.
Obi maintained that transparency, accountability and prudent management of public resources remain critical to Nigeria’s economic recovery and sustainable development.
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