Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has sharply criticised the Federal Government’s proposed plan to borrow about ₦20 trillion to finance the 2026 budget, warning that Nigeria is inching toward a full-blown fiscal crisis.
In a strongly worded statement on Friday, Obi said the new borrowing plan is alarming, especially at a time when debt servicing is expected to consume nearly half of the country’s revenue, while citizens continue to grapple with worsening insecurity, unemployment, and high living costs.
He faulted the government’s lack of transparency on revenue generated in 2025, noting that officials had earlier boasted of surpassing revenue targets since August yet failed to disclose how the funds were utilised.
“Where are all the revenues that accrued in 2025?” he asked.
Obi also condemned what he described as a reckless borrowing pattern, stressing that the loans are not being channelled into sectors that stimulate economic growth. Instead, he said, they are fuelling consumption rather than production.
“It is time to stop this fiscal rascality — borrowing without clarity and without investing in productive sectors,” he said.
The former Anambra governor reiterated that Nigeria cannot achieve prosperity through borrowing, insisting that sustainable development can only be built on production, exports, value creation, and robust institutions that uphold accountability.
Obi further questioned the contradiction in the government’s claim of improved revenue while simultaneously increasing borrowing to “historic and ridiculous levels.”
He warned that persisting on the current trajectory would worsen Nigeria’s debt burden, shrink production, and deepen economic hardship.
“We cannot build a new Nigeria on misleading figures, rising debts, shrinking production, and continuous hardship,” he said.
Obi concluded with a call for urgent fiscal reforms and a shift to a more sustainable economic model that prioritises transparency, productivity, and long-term stability.
