Presidential aide Dada Olusegun has slammed the 2027 presidential candidate of the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, for accusing President Bola Tinubu’s administration of engaging in remarkably imprudent borrowing, escalating Nigeria’s total debt to approximately N200 trillion.

In a statement on Tuesday, Obi said that in three years of the Tinubu administration, the debt rose by over N100 trillion. He described this as a stark contrast to the roughly N49 trillion accumulated during President Muhammadu Buhari’s eight-year tenure, which would have projected to around N80 trillion.

Obi said that as millions of Nigerians grapple with the shock of this unsustainable accumulation of debt, the situation is exacerbated by the government’s reckless approach to borrowing and a profound absence of accountability and transparency in the utilisation of these funds.

Giving an instance, he said data from the Federation’s Budget Office reveals that the Tinubu government borrowed N11.89 trillion in the first three quarters of 2025 (January to September), exceeding the planned borrowing target of N10.34 trillion by approximately N1.54 trillion. “Under a responsible and accountable government, such an overshoot would necessitate rigorous scrutiny and explanation from relevant governmental bodies. Regrettably, this is not the reality under the current administration,” he said.

“Compounding this issue, only N3.10 trillion of the borrowed funds was allocated to capital expenditure during the same January-September 2025 period. This constitutes a mere 17.66% of the N17.58 trillion earmarked for capital projects, leaving a deficit of roughly N14.48 trillion, or 82.34% of planned capital expenditure unfunded.”

He said the most disturbing aspect of the financial management fiasco under Tinubu is that there is no explanation or information regarding how the balance was utilised or deployed. He said Nigerians deserve an answer to what happened to the balance.

“Was it deployed for recurrent expenditure/ consumption, for the entertainment of guests to Aso Rock or transferred to the Renewed Hope Agenda 2027 Election Campaign Fund? Nigerians deserve an answer on how our economy and resources are most unpatriotically managed,” Obi said.

Reacting, Tinubu’s aide accused Obi of abandoning the trouble he’s facing within the NDC and “the horrible update from his beloved Indonesia about its dwindling economy to quickly distract us with misinformation again, but we will not watch this go uncorrected.”

Olusegun pointed out that Nigeria’s obvious increase in its debt portfolio over the past three years under the administration of President Tinubu is not a function of new borrowings; rather, the vast majority of it is a mathematical effect of currency devaluation, which Obi also promised to implement during his presidential campaign in 2023.

He said in addition, this administration inherited a whopping ways and means debt of around 20 trillion, which was securitised to ensure swift repayment by the nation. “This accounts for a significant portion of the debts Mr Obi claims the administration has accumulated within three years.

“Also, Nigeria’s public debt includes loans taken by subnationals over the years,” he said.

“Since Obi has chosen to play the pedestrian game with our economy, let me break it down for him at that level; If tomorrow, President Tinubu decides to fix the Naira against the dollar at N500/$ and the value of our debts in Naira drops drastically, will Mr @peterobi unequivocally agree that the President has repaid all of our debts?

“Yes, governments at all levels across the world take loans to accelerate their development and Nigeria is not an exemption in this case.

“However, a presidential candidate believing that an administration with less than N100 trillion total budget in the last two budget cycles has borrowed almost N200 trillion is absolutely ridiculous.”

He noted that Nigeria’s debt in dollar terms has remained relatively stable, ranging from $108bn in 2023 to $109bn in 2026, emphasising that this reflects the country’s true debt levels.

“In contrast, Nigeria’s net external reserves have grown from $3bn in 2023 to around $40bn in 2026. I hope Mr Obi will do well to convert these to Naira same way he has done with our debts to show his audience how much we have grown in just three years.

“We will continue to set the records straight at every given opportunity while allowing Mr President to focus on delivering his mandate to the good people of Nigeria,” he said.