The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, Peter Obi, on Sunday renewed his call for President Bola Tinubu to resign, alleging that the administration had entrenched what he described as “grand corruption” following an International Monetary Fund consultation report that reportedly identified N8.83tn in unbudgeted expenditure for 2025.
In a statement titled “Grand Corruption: Nigeria’s Greatest Threat” and posted on his verified X handle, Obi said the reported expenditure, which he claimed was not captured in the 2025 Appropriation Act, raised serious concerns about transparency and accountability in the management of public finances.
PLATFORM TIMES reports that the former Anambra State governor has repeatedly criticised the Tinubu administration over its handling of the economy, governance and public spending, previously urging the President to step aside over what he described as poor leadership.
Referring to the IMF consultation report, Obi alleged that the N8.83tn expenditure was made outside the approved budget and therefore escaped legislative oversight and administrative scrutiny.
According to him, the amount represents about two per cent of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product, more than 35 per cent of the N23.96tn capital component of the 2025 budget, and exceeds the combined allocations to the education and health sectors.
Obi argued that if the funds had been properly utilised and accounted for, they could have significantly transformed critical sectors of the economy.
“If properly utilised and accounted for, this amount could have transformed Nigeria’s public healthcare and education sectors. It could have created hundreds of cottage industries, providing jobs for thousands of graduates and laying a solid foundation for economic development. But we cannot account for it,” he said.
The opposition figure described the alleged spending as evidence of what he called a pattern of corruption under the All Progressives Congress-led Federal Government.
He accused the administration of being “grossly corrupt, incompetent and insensitive,” warning that weak adherence to public finance management principles would worsen poverty, undermine national security and further erode confidence in public institutions.
Obi maintained that the IMF report had reinforced his earlier demand that Tinubu should resign from office.
“The recent report from the IMF consultation further raises concerns about the scale of grand corruption under the Tinubu government.
“This is horrible. We have a lot to worry about regarding the state of corruption under President Tinubu,” he added.
The Presidency and the Federal Government are yet to issue an official response to Obi’s latest allegations as of the time of filing this report.
However, the Federal Government had earlier dismissed claims that about N8tn was spent outside the 2025 budget, insisting that no expenditure was made without legal appropriation and maintaining that Nigeria’s public finance processes remain in line with constitutional and fiscal regulations.
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