The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi has reacted to a recent International Monetary Fund report. The report raised concerns about unbudgeted expenditure under President Bola Tinubu’s administration. Mr Obi described the findings as evidence of grand corruption.
Summary:
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The IMF report revealed that N8.83 trillion spent in 2025 was not reflected in the budget.
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Peter Obi said the amount exceeds the combined budgets for education and health.
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He called on President Tinubu to resign, citing incompetence and pervasive corruption.
The IMF Findings
The IMF consultation report has raised fresh concerns. It revealed that about N8.83 trillion in expenditure undertaken in 2025 was not captured in the national budget.
This means the spending was not subject to legislative oversight. It also escaped administrative scrutiny and paved way for rampant looting.
Mr Obi shared his reaction in a series of posts on X on Tuesday. He described the revelation as horrible.
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Mr Obi put the figure in perspective. He explained what N8.83 trillion represents.
The amount is about two per cent of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product. It is over 35 per cent of the 2025 capital project budget of N23.96 trillion. The amount is more than the actual released capital funding for that year.
It is also more than the entire combined budget for education and health. The education budget stood at N3.52 trillion. Health was allocated N2.38 trillion.
“If such an amount is properly used and accounted for, it could transform Nigeria’s public health and education sectors. It could create hundreds of cottage industries that can provide jobs for thousands of graduates and build a solid foundation for economic development. But we cannot account for it,” Mr Obi stated
A Pattern of Grand Corruption
Mr Obi did not see the finding as an isolated incident. He described it as a pattern.
“This is not an isolated incident. This is a pattern of grand corruption that has become part of this administration,” he said.
He warned of the consequences. He said such corruption poses a grave danger.
“The sort of corruption that is ingrained in total disregard of elementary rules of public finance management poses a grave danger to national security and the stability of the Nigerian state. The capture of the Nigerian state and the plunder of its resources are actions that undermine the basis of state stability and deepen poverty and state failure.”
Call for Resignation
Mr Obi renewed his call for President Tinubu to resign. He had made the same demand a few days earlier.
He said the call was not excessive. The daily revelations of corruption, he argued, justified it.
“A few days ago, I called on President Tinubu to resign from office for incompetence, lack of capacity, lack of compassion, and failure to improve on his campaign promises. Some people thought perhaps the call was excessive. But with the daily revelations of pervasive corruption in this administration and its total lack of commitment to the welfare and security of Nigerian citizens, the only reasonable action is for President Tinubu to resign from office.”
He also called on citizens to act. He urged them to hold the administration accountable within the bounds of the law.
“The collapse of elementary forms of due process under Tinubu and the increased evidence of rampant looting of Nigerian public finances reinforce the need for greater accountability. It is now time for Nigerian citizens to rise within the law and hold this administration to account.”
A New Nigeria Is Possible
Mr Obi ended his statement with his familiar slogan. “A New Nigeria is POssible,” he wrote.
