Former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has criticised the rising debt profile under the administration of Bola Tinubu, warning that Nigeria’s growing debt servicing obligations are overshadowing investments in critical sectors such as health, education and poverty alleviation.
Obi made the remarks in a statement titled “Debt Servicing, Borrowing, and Nigeria’s Fiscal Priorities,” shared on his X handle on Monday.
He expressed concern over the Federal Government’s projected expenditure of about $11.6 billion on debt servicing, describing it as a troubling development for Nigeria’s economic future and long-term growth.
According to Obi, borrowing is not necessarily harmful when managed prudently and channelled into productive sectors capable of generating sustainable economic returns.
Drawing comparisons with countries such as Japan, United Kingdom, United States, United Arab Emirates, Singapore and Indonesia, Obi noted that nations with high debt levels often invest borrowed funds in infrastructure, healthcare, education and innovation to drive economic development.
He argued, however, that Nigeria’s case is different, alleging that a significant portion of past borrowings had been spent on consumption with little visible or sustainable developmental impact.
The former Anambra State governor also claimed that a large part of the debt currently being serviced was accumulated under the Tinubu administration, even as the government continues to borrow at what he described as a significant pace.
Obi further pointed to allocations in the proposed 2026 budget, noting that ₦2.46 trillion was earmarked for health, ₦2.56 trillion for education and ₦865 billion for poverty alleviation — bringing the combined allocation for the three sectors to about ₦5.885 trillion.
He contrasted this with the estimated debt servicing obligation of between ₦17 trillion and ₦18 trillion, depending on prevailing exchange rates, saying the figure is almost three times higher than the combined spending on the three key sectors.
“This imbalance highlights a troubling fiscal reality in which debt obligations increasingly crowd out investment in human capital and poverty reduction,” Obi stated.
Comments