By Valentine Obienyem
Former Governor of Anambra State and 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi, has raised alarm over Nigeria’s rising debt profile, following the recent approval by the Senate of additional foreign and domestic borrowing.
In a strongly worded statement, Obi expressed deep concern after the Nigerian Senate, on July 22, approved $21 billion, €2.2 billion, and ¥15 billion in external loans, alongside a N750.98 billion domestic bond issuance and a €65 million grant, as part of the 2025–2026 fiscal borrowing plan. He noted that with an existing public debt of about N149.39 trillion in Q1 2025, the newly approved loans, totalling approximately N37.2 trillion, would push Nigeria’s public debt to around N187 trillion—and potentially over N200 trillion by year-end.
Obi pointed out that even after the recent GDP rebasing which raised Nigeria’s GDP to about N372.8 trillion (approximately $243.7 billion), the nation’s debt-to-GDP ratio now stands at an unprecedented 50.16%—the highest in its history. “Before rebasing,” he noted, “the government had borrowed nearly 70% of our previous GDP.”
He warned that Nigeria’s escalating debt was not yielding tangible results in critical areas such as education, healthcare, infrastructure, and security. “We are accumulating exponential and unsustainable levels of debt with little or nothing to show for it,” Obi lamented.
Highlighting the stark realities of governance failure, Obi cited grim figures: over 10,217 people killed and 672 villages sacked between May 2023 and May 2025; 135,000km of roads remaining unpaved and largely unmotorable; and electricity generation persistently under 5,000MW for a population exceeding 200 million.
Obi further referenced the alarming malnutrition crisis in Northern Nigeria, where Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) recently reported 652 child deaths, particularly in Katsina State, amid worsening poverty levels. With 133 million Nigerians—about 63% of the population—classified as multi-dimensionally poor, he described the situation as both tragic and avoidable in a country endowed with vast natural and human resources.
While acknowledging that borrowing is not inherently bad, Obi emphasised that it must be tied to productive, transparent, and measurable investments. “This current pattern of borrowing without accountability is simply mortgaging the future of our children,” he warned. “Leadership must consider the inter-generational consequences of unsustainable borrowing.”
He called for a return to disciplined, prudent economic management through reduced cost of governance, plugging of financial leakages, and massive investment in human capital. “Nigeria cannot continue to borrow recklessly while poverty deepens and public trust erodes,” Obi said.
He concluded with a rallying call for a new national ethos: “It is time to stop this fiscal indiscipline and build a New Nigeria—where leadership is responsible, development is people-centred, and every kobo borrowed delivers measurable impact.
