Former Anambra State Governor and Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has again warned that Nigeria is hurtling toward a debt disaster, accusing the current administration of borrowing without accountability or impact.
In a statement on his official X handle, Obi described the ₦187 trillion total public debt—a combination of local and foreign loans—as “unsustainable, reckless, and dangerous for our future.”
On July 22, 2025, the Senate approved $21 billion, €2.2 billion, and ¥15 billion in fresh foreign loans for the 2025–2026 fiscal year. It also endorsed ₦750.98 billion in domestic bonds and a €65 million grant.
These loans, Obi said, raise Nigeria’s total debt stock by about ₦37.2 trillion, pushing it to the highest level in the nation’s history.
Worsening Poverty Amid Mounting Debt
Despite the borrowings, Obi said Nigerians are seeing “little or nothing to show for it in education, healthcare, electricity, or security.”
“We are accumulating very exponential levels of debt,” he wrote, “while education is underfunded, healthcare is inaccessible, and power supply remains under 5,000MW for over 200 million people.”
He noted that Nigeria still has one of the lowest human development rankings globally, even though over ₦4.91 trillion has been spent on security this year alone.
“Between May 2023 and May 2025, 10,217 people have been killed, and 672 villages sacked. Yet, security spending rose from ₦2.98 trillion in 2023 to ₦4.91 trillion in 2025.”
Is This the Future We Want for Our Children?
Obi warned that the government’s fiscal recklessness is “mortgaging the future of our children.”
“Borrowing is not inherently bad,” he admitted, “but it must be tied to productive investments with measurable outcomes. This current pattern lacks transparency and impact.”
The GDP rebasing earlier this year pushed Nigeria’s economy to ₦372.8 trillion (around $243.7 billion). Still, Obi noted that the debt-to-GDP ratio now stands at 50.16%, one of the highest ever.
Even more alarming, “we may cross ₦200 trillion in debt by the end of 2025.”
Malnutrition and Hunger in a Wealthy Nation
Obi lamented Nigeria’s humanitarian crises, citing the recent warning from Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), also known as Doctors Without Borders, about worsening child malnutrition in the north.
According to MSF, Katsina State is among the worst-hit, with over 652 children already dead due to the crisis.
“This is a country blessed with enormous resources,” Obi wrote. “Yet nobody should go to bed hungry. It is leadership failure that throws our citizens into deepening poverty.”
Obi urged the government to adopt “a disciplined and prudent economic culture,” cut waste, and invest in human capital.
“It is time to stop this fiscal indiscipline,” he said. “We must build a New Nigeria, where leadership is responsible, and every kobo borrowed delivers a measurable impact.”
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