President Tinubu has borrowed more in three years than Buhari did in eight years – Peter Obi

Presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Party (NDC), Peter Obi, has criticised the borrowing profile of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration, alleging that the current government has accumulated more debt in three years than was incurred during the eight-year administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.

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Obi made the claim in a statement released on Tuesday, June 9. He expressed concerns over Nigeria’s growing debt burden and what he described as a lack of transparency in the management of borrowed funds.

According to Obi, Nigeria’s total debt has risen to about N200 trillion under the Tinubu administration, representing an increase of over N100 trillion within three years.

His post reads

‘’Excessive Borrowing Without Accountability: Further Affirmation of Imprudent Governance.

 

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. As millions of Nigerians grapple with the shock of this unsustainable debt accumulation, the situation is exacerbated by the government’s reckless approach to borrowing and a profound absence of accountability and transparency in the utilisation of these funds.

 

For instance, data from the Federation’s Budget Office reveals that the Bola Tinubu government borrowed N11.89 trillion in the first three quarters of 2025 (January to September), exceeding the planned borrowing target of N10.34 trillion by approximately N1.54 trillion. 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.

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Compounding this issue, only N3.10 trillion of the borrowed funds was allocated to capital expenditure during the same January-September 2025 period. This constitutes a mere 17.66% of the N17.58 trillion earmarked for capital projects, leaving a deficit of roughly N14.48 trillion, or 82.34% 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. The question that Nigerians are rightly asking and deserve an answer to is what happened to the balance? Was it deployed for recurrent expenditure/ consumption, for the entertainment of guests to Aso Rock or transferred to the Renewed Hope Agenda 2027 Election Campaign Fund? Nigerians deserve an answer on how our economy and resources are most unpatriotically managed.”