By John Alechenu
Abuja— Labour Social gathering’s presidential candidate within the 2023 elections, Peter Obi, has once more decried what he described as President Bola Tinubu’s administration’s penchant for reckless borrowing with out accountability.
Obi spoke in response to the newest exterior borrowing plan of $21 billion, N2.2 billion euro and ¥15 billion authorized by the Senate final week. The previous Anambra State governor famous that with the newest approval, Nigeria’s debt now stood at N187 trillion, with palpable concern that it would climb to N200 trillion earlier than the tip of the yr.
Writing on his X deal with yesterday, Obi stated: “On July 22, 2025, the Nigerian Senate authorized an extra $21 billion, 2.2 billion euro, ¥15 billion of exterior borrowing for the 2025–2026 fiscal cycle.
“It additionally authorized a N750.98 billion home bond issuance and a 65 65 million euro grant. With an already current public debt of about N149.39 trillion as on the first quarter of 2025, including the authorized loans of about N37.2 trillion) brings our present complete debt to about N187 trillion with issues that our debt would possibly doubtless be over N200 trillion by the tip of 2025.
“As our GDP earlier than rebasing was about N269.2 trillion (about $180 billion), the federal government has borrowed the equal of practically 70 per cent of our earlier GDP. Even after the rebasing, which pushed our GDP to about N372.8 trillion (about $243. 7billion), the federal government would have borrowed about 50.16 % of the brand new GDP (with the authorized loans), the very best debt-to-GDP ratio in our historical past as a nation.
“Whereas the year-on-year enhance is about N27.72 trillion and the quarter-on-quarter enhance is about N4.72 trillion, we’re accumulating very exponential ranges of unsustainable debt with little or nothing to point out for it in crucial areas reminiscent of training, healthcare, electrical energy technology, safety of lives and property, and pulling individuals out of poverty.
“We nonetheless rank low in all main human growth indicators. Whereas training is underfunded and commonplace in steady decline, healthcare stays inaccessible to thousands and thousands of Nigerians significantly the poor.
“Safety of lives and property has deteriorated with over 10,217 individuals killed and 672 villages sacked between Might 29, 2023, and Might twenty ninth 2025, even when safety spending has considerably elevated from N2.98 trillion in 2023 to N4.91 trillion in 2025.
“Infrastructure decay persists throughout the nation, with about 135,000km of our 195,000km of roads remaining unpaved, largely unmotorable, and unusable.”
“It’s the similar miserable scenario in virtually all sectors of the economic system, with the facility sector an unquestionable instance, with lower than 5,000 MW provided for over 200 million Nigerians.
“Immediately, over two years after the current authorities took over and with all of the humongous borrowing, we’re nonetheless confronted with damaging reviews of worsening poverty with about 133 million (63%) Nigerians labeled as multi-dimensionally poor, rising unemployment and disheartening information like 652 kids useless because the malnutrition disaster worsens in Northern Nigeria.
“Médecins Sans Frontières, MSF, also referred to as Docs With out Borders, has simply sounded the alarm over an escalating malnutrition disaster in Northern Nigeria, with Katsina State rising as one of many worst-hit areas.
“This can be a nation blessed with monumental assets, but no one ought to go to mattress hungry. Nonetheless, a persistent deficiency in management has thrown nearly all of our residents into rising multi-dimensional poverty.
“Borrowing isn’t inherently dangerous whether it is sustainable and tied to productive investments with measurable outcomes. Sadly, this present sample of borrowing with out accountability, with out transparency, and with out transformational impression is solely mortgaging the way forward for our kids.
“The federal government ought to contemplate the inter-generational penalties of their unsustainable borrowings and present at the very least a minimal consideration and curiosity in way forward for younger and unborn Nigerians.
“We should return to a disciplined and prudent financial administration tradition, reducing the price of governance, blocking leakages, investing in human capital, and constructing a productive economic system. Nigeria can’t proceed to borrow recklessly whereas poverty deepens and public belief erodes.
“It’s time to cease this fiscal indiscipline. We should construct a New Nigeria, the place management is accountable, growth is people-centred, and each kobo borrowed or spent delivers a measurable impression to realize sustainable and inclusive growth and progress”
The submit Nigeria’s debt may surpass N200trn by end of 2025, Peter Obi warns appeared first on Vanguard News.
