By Abiola Olawale
The 2023 Presidential candidate of the Labour Party and former governor of Anambra State, Mr Peter Obi has issued a warning about Nigeria’s ballooning debt, projecting that the nation’s public debt could exceed ₦200 trillion by the end of 2025.
In a statement shared on his X handle, Obi criticized the government’s borrowing practices, highlighting what he described as the lack of tangible progress in critical sectors despite massive loans.
Recall that on July 22, 2025, the Nigerian Senate approved new external borrowing totaling $21 billion, €2.2 billion, and ¥15 billion for the 2025–2026 fiscal cycle, alongside a ₦750.98 billion domestic bond issuance and a €65 million grant.
According to Obi, these approvals have consequently pushed Nigeria’s current debt to ₦187 trillion, from ₦149.39 trillion in Q1 2025, with a year-on-year increase of ₦27.72 trillion and a quarter-on-quarter rise of ₦4.72 trillion, respectively.
He said: “With an already existing public debt of about N149.39 trillion as at the first quarter of 2025, adding the approved loans of about N37.2 trillion brings our current total debt to about N187 trillion, with concerns that our debt might likely be over N200 trillion by the end of 2025.
“We are accumulating exponential levels of unsustainable debt with little or nothing to show for it in critical areas such as education, healthcare, electricity generation, and security.”
According to the former Anambra State governor, Nigeria’s pre-rebased GDP stood at N269.2 trillion (around $180 billion), meaning total borrowing now represents nearly 70% of the previous GDP.
Obi added that despite the recent GDP rebasing, which revised the figure upward to N372.8 trillion (approximately $243.7 billion), Nigeria’s debt-to-GDP ratio still hovers at 50.16%—the highest in its history.
He emphasised that while Nigeria reported a year-on-year debt increase of N27.72 trillion and a quarter-on-quarter rise of N4.72 trillion, key development metrics remain stagnant, deteriorating and in most terrible State.
He continued: “This is a country blessed with enormous resources, yet nobody should go to bed hungry. A persistent deficiency in leadership has thrown the majority of our citizens into increasing poverty.
“This pattern of borrowing without accountability and transformational impact is simply mortgaging the future of our children.
“The government should show minimum consideration for the future of young and unborn Nigerians.”
