THE Labour Party presidential candidate in the 2023 election, Peter Obi, has criticised President Bola Tinubu-led administration’s plan to borrow N17.89 trillion in 2026.
Obi, who expressed worry over the development, described it as fiscally reckless and unjustifiable amid “unprecedented hardship, insecurity, and unemployment.”
His comments came on the heels of the government’s proposed plan to increase new borrowing from N10.42 trillion in 2025 to N17.89 trillion in 2026, amounting to a 72 per cent rise in fresh loans.
Despite only 30 per cent performance of the capital component of the 2025 budget, Nigeria’s National Assembly in November approved an additional 1.15 trillion naira ($784 million) in domestic borrowing to help fund a shortfall in the 2025 budget.
The incessant borrowings and the carryover of 70 per cent of the capital component of the 2025 budget have also raised several unanswered questions on fiscal responsibility by the Federal Government.
According to the Abridged Budget Call Circular issued by the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, revenue projections remain significantly lower than expenditure needs, widening the deficit and deepening concerns over debt sustainability.
Debt servicing is projected to consume nearly half of national revenue in 2026.
Reacting in a statement posted on his official X account on Friday, December 12, Obi said the borrowing plan raised urgent questions about transparency and fiscal responsibility.
“Today, Nigerians woke up again to the troubling news that the Federal Government is planning to borrow about ₦20 trillion in new loans to finance the 2026 budget. This is at a time when debt servicing alone is projected to gulp nearly half of our national revenue,” he wrote.
Obi questioned the status of government earnings for the current fiscal year.
“Where is the revenue from 2025? How can we be discussing trillions in new borrowing for 2026 when we are still implementing the 2024 budget?” he said, suggesting that the 2025 budget “is still untouched and unimplemented.”
He accused the government of engaging in “fiscal rascality,” arguing that rising loans were not being channelled into productive sectors.
“We cannot keep mortgaging the future of our children through thoughtless borrowing. Nations do not develop by consuming more than they produce. They develop by producing, exporting, and creating value,” he said.
The former Anambra State governor insisted that governance must prioritise transparency and accountability.
“We cannot tell Nigerians that revenue is increasing while simultaneously increasing borrowing to ridiculous historic levels. Our nation must move forward,” he maintained.
Also reacting to the planned borrowing, a development economist, Paul Alaje, said rising borrowing had not resulted in the improved implementation of the national budget, despite the rising revenue improvement by revenue-generating agencies.
“The instruction by the government to carry over 70 per cent of the capital component of the budget means that the national contributions to GDP are only 30 per cent. We borrow, and we are paying interest on the borrowed funds, and it’s affecting our economy.
“It’s not good for us to keep having this in the coming year. It means that the excitement over planned infrastructure projects, like road infrastructure, would be largely affected,” he added.
Harrison Edeh is a journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting, always determined to drive advocacy for good governance through holding public officials and businesses accountable.