JIDE ONIFADE
NIGERIA: The 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has renewed his call for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to resign, citing what he described as damning revelations in the International Monetary Fund (IMF)’s latest consultation report, which he claimed exposed an unbudgeted ₦8.83 trillion in public expenditure under the current administration.
In a statement issued on Sunday, Obi described grand corruption as the greatest threat confronting Nigeria, arguing that the reported expenditure, allegedly incurred in 2025 but absent from the national budget, points to a dangerous erosion of fiscal discipline, transparency and accountability.
According to Obi, the ₦8.83 trillion expenditure was neither appropriated by the National Assembly nor subjected to the statutory oversight and administrative scrutiny required under Nigeria’s public finance laws.
“The recent report from the IMF consultation further raises concerns about the scale of grand corruption under the Tinubu government. The IMF now reveals that about ₦8.83 trillion in expenditure undertaken in 2025 is not reflected in the budget. This expenditure is not budgeted and is therefore not under legislative oversight or administrative scrutiny. This is horrible,” he said.
Obi argued that the amount involved represents a substantial portion of the nation’s economy, estimating it at about two per cent of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). He noted that it amounts to more than 35 per cent of the country’s ₦23.96 trillion capital expenditure budget for 2025 and even exceeds the actual capital releases made during the year.
He further stated that the figure is larger than the Federal Government’s combined allocations to the education and health sectors.
“It is more than the entire combined budget for education (₦3.52 trillion) and health (₦2.38 trillion),” he added.
The former Anambra State governor maintained that, if properly deployed and accounted for, such resources could have transformed critical sectors of the economy, improved public services and created thousands of jobs.
“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. This is not an isolated incident.”
Obi alleged that the reported expenditure reflects what he called a recurring pattern of financial mismanagement under the Tinubu administration, warning that disregard for established public finance procedures poses serious risks to Nigeria’s stability.
“This is a pattern of grand corruption that has become part of this administration. We have a lot to worry about regarding the state of corruption under President Tinubu. 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.”»
He further accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of failing to prioritise the welfare of Nigerians despite worsening poverty and economic hardship.
“This recent revelation proves that the APC government is grossly corrupt, incompetent and insensitive. With the growing poverty and the urgent need for significant upgrades to social and physical infrastructure, a responsible government would ensure that ₦8.83 trillion is prudently utilised to address these gaps. But not the Tinubu administration.”
Reaffirming an earlier position, Obi insisted that the latest development reinforced his call for the President to step aside.
“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 concluded by urging Nigerians to lawfully demand accountability from those in government.
“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.”
