In a statement released on Wednesday via his X handle, Peter Obi, a former governor of Anambra State and presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, claimed that despite reported increases in government revenue under President Bola Tinubu’s administration, Nigerians are experiencing worsening economic hardship due to rising debt and declining socio-economic indicators. Obi claimed that Tinubu listed an increase in revenue from N16.8 trillion in 2022 to N35 trillion in 2025, a rise of more than 100%.
However, he said that Nigeria’s overall debt currently stands at roughly N200 trillion and that the administration has continued what he called “excessive and imprudent borrowing” rather than reducing borrowing in tandem with the revenue rise.
Surprisingly, despite Nigerians’ expectations that borrowing would decrease as revenue increased exponentially, this is not the case.
With our overall debt currently at N200 trillion—a very unsettling growth of more than N100 trillion—President Bola Tinubu’s administration appears to be fixated on reckless and excessive borrowing in just three years, he added.
Obi went on to say that because of regional and international geopolitical issues, Nigeria had seen higher-than-budget revenue inflows.
Additionally, he asserted that despite the reported increases in revenue and debt, important socioeconomic indicators had gotten worse. He claimed that multidimensional poverty had increased from 87 million in 2023 to over 140 million in 2025, while GDP per capita had decreased from $1,597 in 2023 to $1,223 in 2025.
Almost all important socioeconomic and governance indices are alarmingly worse than they were in 2023, despite the staggering rise in both revenue and debt, he claimed.
“Where did all the money go?” inquired Obi.
He demanded an end to what he called “imprudent, unaccountable, and opaque management” of public resources and called for what he described as a thorough and comprehensive explanation of Nigeria’s financial and economic management since 2023.
According to PUNCH Online, the most recent statement comes after the former governor criticized the Tinubu administration on Tuesday for what he called excessive borrowing and inadequate fiscal accountability.
Peter Obi and President Bola Tinubu
He claimed that because of what he called careless governance, Nigeria’s overall public debt has increased to almost N200 trillion.
In contrast to the about N49 trillion amassed under the eight-year government of previous President Muhammadu Buhari, he contended that the debt level reflected a growth of more than N100 trillion in just three years.
The Presidency, however, has rejected the allegations, claiming that the government inherited over N20 trillion in Ways and Means debt, which was later securitized, and that a sizable amount of the nation’s debt profile existed before the present administration.
Nigeria’s public debt estimates, according to Dada Olusegun, Special Assistant to the President on Social Media, include liabilities accumulated by state governments throughout time and should not be exclusively assigned to the Federal Government.
The presidential adviser questioned Obi’s assessment of the debt data, stating that changes in exchange rates have a major impact on the value of external debt in naira.
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