Former presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, has criticised the administration of President Bola Tinubu over Nigeria’s rising debt profile, warning that the country is “heading to disaster”.
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) chieftain made the remarks on Tuesday at the party’s national convention in Abuja.
According to him, the removal of the petrol subsidy by the previous administration was intended to reduce borrowing and redirect funds towards national development.
However, he argued that the current government has increased borrowing despite maintaining the subsidy removal policy.
“When this government came into being, they removed subsidy on petroleum. The reason was to stop borrowing to service it and use the resources to develop the country. But today, despite that removal, the government has continued borrowing.
“The previous administration left a debt of about ₦87 trillion. Today, we are close to ₦200 trillion. That means they have borrowed over 130 per cent more, despite removing subsidy. At the same time, contractors are being owed, and no projects in the 2025 budget have been funded. We have huge debt and have borrowed more on everything. We are heading to disaster,” he said.
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Obi stated that the figures were intended to highlight what he described as the country’s economic drift, urging Nigerians to take collective responsibility.
“The reason I used these figures is to show that we are drifting. We all have to work hard and do whatever is possible. Anarchy consumes everybody. We must make sacrifices for the sake of our children. If we do not act, what is happening now will have consequences for us and future generations,” he stated.
Unity, Terrorism Index
The former presidential candidate also stressed the need for national unity, expressing concern over what he described as increasing divisions across the country.
“We need to work as a united Nigeria. The country is so divided, and unity is important. The present government has ensured that we remain more divided. If we allow this to continue, it will get worse,” Obi said.
Speaking on security, the former Anambra State governor said that Nigeria’s global terrorism ranking has worsened under the current administration.
“If you check the index today, when this government came into being, Nigeria’s ranking in terrorism was around 80. Today, we are number four. If this continues for another four years, we could become number one.
“When this government came into being, our poverty rate was about 41.6 per cent, representing roughly 88 million people. Today, it is about 63 per cent, or 140 million people. That means the number has nearly doubled,” he said.