Concerned about Nigeria’s mounting debt, Peter Obi demanded an immediate change in the country’s borrowing policies on Tuesday, September 9, 2025. In a lengthy social media post, the ex-governor of Anambra State stated that he had received many messages over the weekend on the worrying level of the national debt, and that some government officials are now acknowledging that it has reached a critical point. Borrowing money is not inherently bad, but it becomes detrimental when not tied to output, as Obi reiterated his long-standing stance on.
Loans, he stressed, should go towards areas that have a direct influence on development and economic growth, such health, education, infrastructure, and poverty reduction. He brought up the fact that Nigeria has borrowed trillions of naira over the past few years, but there has been zero discernible progress in these crucial domains. There has been little improvement in the state of infrastructure, healthcare services are underfunded, and educational opportunities have been diminishing.
Obi compared Nigeria’s predicament to that of other nations who have borrowed at comparable rates but have achieved more observable development and economic success, such as Vietnam, Egypt, Indonesia, and Bangladesh. Obi brought attention to the fact that debt servicing consumes more than 70% of Nigeria’s revenue, leaving relatively little for social programs and capital investment, as a result of inadequate fiscal planning.
Following the announcement that the nation had achieved its income objective for the year, he questioned the rationale for the federal government’s current attempt to get a $1.75 billion loan from the World Bank. Continued borrowing without responsibility or economic returns, as Obi characterised the action, would cause long-term harm, he cautioned.
According to Obi, “This is why I have always insisted that borrowing should be strictly tied to productive ventures that will generate measurable economic returns, not for consumption or waste.” We have surpassed our revenue goal for the year, as the president told the nation just days ago, yet he is back in the press again today trying to borrow $1.75 billion from the World Bank. This budgetary irresponsibility has to stop,” he emphasised.
Borrowing money for personal consumption or political gain, he said, does nothing but exacerbate poverty and undermine the economy, therefore lawmakers should prioritise projects that create actual value. Before ending, he issued a stern warning that the youth of Nigeria face the prospect of inheriting a debt, unemployment, and underdevelopment-ridden nation unless there is an immediate shift in fiscal discipline and priorities.