Amidst reports of of alleged N8.3tn unbudgeted expenditure by the Tinubu government flagged by the World Bank and the IMF, the presidential candidate of the National Democratic Congress [NDC], Peter Obi on Sunday justified his earlier call for the resignation of President Bola Tinubu over leadership failure.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) had earlier revealed that Nigeria failed to report public spending equivalent to about two per cent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in recent official budgets.
The IMF’s Resident Representative in Nigeria, Christian Ebeke, said that the unreported expenditure, linked partly to major government projects executed outside the formal budget framework, made Nigeria’s fiscal deficit appear lower than its actual financing needs and raised concerns over fiscal transparency.
In a post on X, the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate argued that the reported ₦8.83 trillion expenditure was not captured in the national budget and was therefore outside legislative oversight.
Obi expressed concern over the development, describing the IMF’s report as further evidence of what he called “grand corruption” under the current administration.
He noted that the amount represented more than 35 per cent of the 2025 capital budget and exceeded the combined federal allocations to the education and health sectors.
According to him, if properly deployed and accounted for, the funds could have significantly improved public education and healthcare.
Obi said the report pointed to a pattern of financial mismanagement and renewed his call for President Bola Tinubu to resign, arguing that the administration had failed to demonstrate commitment to accountability, public welfare and national security.
He also urged Nigerians to continue demanding greater transparency in the management of public resources.
The full statement is published below…
Grand Corruption: Nigeria’s Greatest Threat.
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 N8.83 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.
N8.83 trillion is as follows:
1.About 2% of our GDP.
2.Over 35% of Nigeria’s 2025 N23.96 trillion capital project budget. In fact, the amount is more than the actual released capital funding for 2025.
3.It is more than the entire combined budget for education (N3.52 trillion) and health (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. This is not an isolated incident.
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. 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.
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 and responsive government would ensure that N8.83 trillion is prudently utilised to address these gaps. But not the Tinubu administration.
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. 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. -PO