A prominent figure in the opposition coalition, Peter Obi, has been accused by former presidential adviser Remo Omokri of fabricating claims that President Bola Tinubu borrowed more than former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo, Musa Yar’Adua, Goodluck Jonathan, and Muhammadu Buhari.
Obi is a “manipulative trader whose lies can never make him a transformative leader,” according to Omokri.
Nigeria’s debt profile, he maintained, had decreased from $108.2 billion on May 29, 2023, to $94.2 billion.
Omokri wrote in a post on X that Obi has continued to lie because of his desperate desire to become president of Nigeria.
Regarding debt, he wrote: “Peter Obi flagrantly misrepresented that President Tinubu had borrowed more than the total debts of Presidents Obasanjo, Yar’adua, Jonathan, and Buhari.
In fact, Nigeria now owes $94.2 billion, down from $108.2 billion on May 29, 2023. In order to create the appearance that our debt has grown, Peter Obi converted the $94.2 billion into Naira using the floated Naira exchange rate of N1560 to $1.
“When President Tinubu took office, our total debt was N49.85 trillion. But this was when Naira was N400 to $1. As of the end of 2024, our total public debt was N144.67 trillion.
“Now, while it may seem that our total debt has increased from N49.85 trillion to N144.67 trillion, the fact is that the N144.67 trillion is calculated using an exchange rate of N1536 to $1.
“However, when you quantify our debt in dollars rather than Naira, our total debt has actually reduced by over $14 billion.
“God sparing my life, I will appear on a live TV programme to present irrefutable evidence from the Debt Management Office to the Nigerian people.
“How can someone so obviously lie on television? Because naive Nigerians and uninformed outsiders would witness and believe Peter Obi’s lies, he poses a threat to Nigeria’s national security.
His falsehoods have the potential to influence foreign investors to forego making investments in Nigeria. And others who are already in Nigeria can become alarmed and begin to sell.
“The economy and your pocketbook will be impacted by Peter Obi’s lies. He has spoken carelessly because he is desperate to become president of Nigeria.
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