Nigerian opposition figure Peter Obi has criticised President Bola Tinubu’s borrowing policy, warning that debt used to fund consumption rather than production is damaging the country’s economic future.

In a post on X on Thursday, the former Anambra state governor said borrowing without clear productive value “slowly eats away at the health, reputation and autonomy of a nation”.

“Borrowing is not only a leprosy, but a killer cancer when it is borrowed for consumption and not production,” he wrote.

Obi argued that responsible economies borrow with discipline and tie loans to investment that generates growth, jobs and improved living standards, with clear plans for repayment.

The former Labour Party, presidential candidate during the 2023 general elections cited Nigeria’s Fiscal Responsibility Act 2007, which requires governments to state the purpose of borrowing and provide a cost-benefit analysis demonstrating economic and social returns.

“These loans are also dangerous because they burden the capacity of the Nigerian state to improve the economy in the future, as we have one of the world’s highest debt servicing ratios. What matters is not debt-GDP as much as debt-debt servicing ratio because the latter constrains our capacity to finance the sectors that drive human development and economic growth” he said.

According to him, much of the current borrowing fails to meet both legal requirements and economic common sense, with little evidence that it enhances productivity or improves citizens’ welfare.

He also warned that Nigeria’s high debt-servicing burden among the highest globally limits the government’s ability to invest in key sectors, arguing that the debt-servicing ratio is more critical than the debt-to-GDP measure.

“If the money is wrongly spent as we do in Nigeria currently, it becomes double jeopardy because you are using current revenue to service debts that did not add to revenue or improve capacity for more production in the future. A responsible government does not merely defend borrowing; it explains it, justifies it, and most importantly, ensures it works for the people” he said.