‘Tinubu Has Borrowed More Money Than Yar’Adua, Jonathan, Buhari’, says Peter Obi
……More Nigerians multi-dimensionally poor as corruption takes centre stage
Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate in the 2023 election, Mr Peter Obi, says President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration has drawn Nigeria backward in the last two years through ill-conceived polies and brazen corruption.
He also said that despite the trillions of naira purportedly saved from the removal of fuel subsidy, a policy initially justified as a means to curb borrowing, the government has within two years borrowed far more money than the administrations of President Umaru Yar’Adua, Goodluck Jonathan, and Muhammadu Buhari combined.
“Today, Nigeria’s overall public debt is estimated at close to N188 trillion.
“Nigerians were informed that these borrowed funds would be allocated to critical sectors of development. Still, there has been no significant improvement in education, healthcare, or poverty alleviation; critical sectors that are vitally important for national development.
“Brazen Corruption is at its worst under this administration. Nigeria has now become a crime scene. Now our national budget is routinely inflated and padded without consequences.
“One of the most glaring manifestations of this is the extensive padding of the 2025 national budget. BudgIT revealed that about N7 trillion was questionably inserted by the National Assembly. These figures suggest a pattern of inflated costs and misappropriation of funds,” Obi said on Thursday in a statement titled ‘Democracy in Decline: Reflecting on Two Years of Tinubu’s Governance’.
The former Anambra State governor said the Tinubu-led All Progressives Congress (APC) administration has failed woefully in virtually all indices of governance including corruption, prudence, economy, insecurity and politics.
He challenged the President to stop wasting tax payers money on foreign travels, and instead, use 72 days to tour the 36 states so as to get the true picture of how his administration has thrown majority of Nigerians into multi-dimensional poverty.
He also challenged Tinubu “to emulate late President Umaru Yar’Adua, who was honest enough to admit the process that brought him into office was wrong and not sufficiently credible, and insisted on rapidly doing what is right to save our democracy.”
He also recalled that former President Goodluck Jonathan saved the democracy by accepting defeat even before the election result was announced.
He said, “We must end this troubling governance era that is filled with impunity, state capture, and absolute disregard for the rule of law and the checks and balances required of any worthwhile democracy.
“In our present state, our dear country, Nigeria, cannot be justly classified as a democratic country. The vital indications of democracy are noticeably absent. Some do not even exist.
“Democracy is said to be ‘a government of the people, by the people, and for the people,’ yet none of these three measures exist in our democracy today.
“Rules, regulations and requirements to participate in elections or be elected for are not followed, consequently, individuals who are to be disqualified ab initio are now holding, including public offices.”
He accused those in government of propagating lies, celebrating and endorsing failures, adding that all key indicators of development are in the red.
Obi said, “The government today, rather than show genuine accountability and measurable progress, focuses on manipulating narratives, gaslighting the public, shifting blame and weaponizing governance.
“Nigerians live in a worsening and worrisome insecurity, widespread corruption, hunger, and general despondency.
“There are no clear benchmarks for measuring tangible development, as we continue to witness the collapse of key indicators, like education, healthcare, and poverty alleviation, which are presently measuring national progress.
“Our country today can best be described as a nation declining fast in all its facets. The security of lives and property ty has worsened, and the rule of law is virtually non-existent.
“These are the hard-verifiable facts: On May 29th, 2023, when the president was sworn into office, Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) stood at $364 billion. As of today, it has declined to $188 billion, a decline of almost fifty per cent (50%).
“Nigeria’s GDP per capita was $1,640 as of May 2023, but today it has dropped drastically to about $835, a devastating decline of about 50%.
Nigerians living in multi-dimensional poverty increased from 38.9% to 54% within this period, with about 129 million Nigerians now living below the poverty line.
“The World Bank reported recently that 75% of Nigerians in rural areas now live in poverty as of 2025, and even more than previously recorded in the urban areas.
“Today, more than 18.3 million Nigerian children are out of school, the highest number in the world.
“The quality of education in Nigeria is also deteriorating rapidly. Many of our children are being taught sciences without any science labs and computer studies without any computers.
“Students are now writing WAEC and other national exams in the dark, relying on candles. There are now even glitches in their exams.”
Obi said that healthcare services have worsened drastically, citing concerns raised by the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, which said that less than 20% of the over 30,000 Primary Health Care Centres across the nation are fully functional.
“The United Nations recently reported Nigeria as the world’s worst country to give birth, with one death recorded every seven minutes. Ditto Nigerian businesses that have continued to collapse at alarming rates.
“Within the past two years, approximately 7 million Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) shut down across Nigeria. Over 80 manufacturing companies have permanently closed their operations.
“Funding costs, including the cost of raw materials and energy, have surged to an incredible level, forcing these manufacturers to shut down.
“Over 15 major multinationals (including GlaxoSmithKline, Diageo, Procter & Gamble, and Shoprite) have exited Nigeria due to the harsh operating environment.”
Obi also expressed concern about the spiralling hunger in the land.
“The hunger crisis arising from food insecurity has deepened in these 2 years.
“Based on the Global Hunger Index (GHI) report, Nigeria’s hunger situation has taken a hit, as we are now one of the hungriest countries in the world. Millions can no longer afford food due to the high costs of food and nonexistent disposable income.
“Our national population is experiencing a mental health crisis as the mental health and stress levels in this period have increased drastically.
“Fifty-nine per cent of the population is under daily stress. Mental health experts and advocates have warned that the present situation in Nigeria is having extremely adverse effects on the population as it contributes to anger, anxiety, and depression levels in the country.”
