Peter Obi, former Anambra governor and 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), has raised alarm over Nigeria’s growing debt profile, warning that the government is mortgaging the future of unborn generations through unsustainable and unaccountable borrowing.
In a statement issued on Monday, Obi described as worrisome the Senate’s recent approval of additional external loans totalling $21 billion, €2.2 billion, and ¥15 billion for the 2025–2026 fiscal period.
He noted that the upper legislative chamber also approved a ₦750.98 billion domestic bond issuance and a €65 million grant.
Obi said that as of the first quarter of 2025, Nigeria’s total public debt stood at ₦149.39 trillion, and with the new approvals amounting to about ₦37.2 trillion, the debt burden has risen to around ₦187 trillion.
He warned that Nigeria’s total debt may exceed ₦200 trillion by the end of 2025.
His words: “As our GDP before rebasing was about ₦269.2 trillion (about $180 billion), the government has borrowed the equivalent of nearly 70% of our previous GDP.
“Even after the rebasing, which pushed our GDP to about ₦372.8 trillion (about $243.7 billion), the government would have borrowed about 50.16% of the new GDP — the highest debt-to-GDP ratio in our history as a nation.”
The LP chieftain said the country is accumulating debt at an exponential rate “with little or nothing to show for it” in key sectors like education, healthcare, electricity, and security.
He stated: “We still rank low in all major human development indicators. While education is underfunded and standard in continuous decline, healthcare remains inaccessible to millions of Nigerians, particularly the poor.
“Security of lives and property has deteriorated with over 10,217 people killed and 672 villages sacked between May 29, 2023 and May 29, 2025, even though security spending has significantly increased from ₦2.98 trillion in 2023 to ₦4.91 trillion in 2025.”
Obi also pointed to the country’s dilapidated road infrastructure, saying about 135,000km of Nigeria’s 195,000km of roads remain unpaved and unusable.
He lamented that despite the over 200 million population, the country continues to generate and distribute less than 5,000 megawatts of electricity.
“Today, over two years after the present government took over and with all the humongous borrowing, we are still confronted with negative reports of worsening poverty.
“About 133 million (63%) Nigerians are classified as multi-dimensionally poor, unemployment is increasing, and we receive disheartening news like 652 children dead as the malnutrition crisis worsens in Northern Nigeria,” he noted.
He stressed that borrowing, while not inherently bad, must be sustainable and tied to measurable, productive investments.
“Unfortunately, this current pattern of borrowing without accountability, without transparency, and without transformational impact is simply mortgaging the future of our children.
“The government should consider the inter-generational consequences of their unsustainable borrowings and show at least a minimum consideration and interest in the future of young and unborn Nigerians,” he stated.
Obi called for a return to “disciplined and prudent economic management”, emphasising the need to cut the cost of governance, block leakages, and invest in human capital.
“Nigeria cannot continue to borrow recklessly while poverty deepens and public trust erodes.
“It is time to stop this fiscal indiscipline. We must build a New Nigeria, where leadership is responsible, development is people-centred, and every kobo borrowed or spent delivers measurable impact,” he concluded.