The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has alleged that the N8.83tn expenditure reportedly incurred by the Federal Government in 2025 but not captured in the national budget reflects what he described as grand corruption under President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
Obi, in a statement titled “Grand Corruption: Nigeria’s Greatest Threat,” shared across his social media channels, said the recent International Monetary Fund (IMF) consultation report had heightened concerns over public finance management, alleging that the reported expenditure was outside the budget and therefore escaped legislative oversight and administrative scrutiny.
“The recent report from the IMF consultation,” he said “further raises concerns about the scale of grand corruption under the Tinubu government. The IMF now reveals that about N8.83 trillion in expenditure undertaken in 2025 is not reflected in the budget.”
“This expenditure,” he said “is not budgeted and is therefore not under legislative oversight or administrative scrutiny. This is horrible.”
The former Anambra State governor highlighted what he described as the significance of the amount, noting that it represents about two per cent of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), more than 35 per cent of the country’s N23.96 trillion capital budget for 2025, and exceeds the combined allocations to the education and health sectors.
According to him, the reported expenditure is greater than the actual capital funds released for the year and surpasses the N3.52 trillion budgeted for education and the N2.38 trillion allocated to health.
Obi argued that prudent utilisation of such funds could have addressed pressing developmental challenges confronting the country.
“If such an amount is properly used and accounted for, it could transform Nigeria’s public health and education sectors. It could create hundreds of cottage industries that can provide jobs for thousands of graduates and build a solid foundation for economic development. But we cannot account for it. This is not an isolated incident,” he stated.
He alleged that the latest revelation reflects a broader pattern of financial mismanagement by the current administration.
“This is a pattern of grand corruption that has become part of this administration.
“We have a lot to worry about regarding the state of corruption under President Tinubu. The sort of corruption that is ingrained in total disregard of elementary rules of public finance management poses a grave danger to national security and the stability of the Nigerian state.
“The capture of the Nigerian state and the plunder of its resources are actions that undermine the basis of state stability and deepen poverty and state failure.”
Obi further alleged that the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led administration had failed to deploy public resources to improve the welfare of Nigerians despite worsening poverty and growing infrastructure deficits.
“This recent revelation proves that the APC government is grossly corrupt, incompetent, and insensitive. With the growing poverty and the urgent need for significant upgrades to social and physical infrastructure, a responsible and responsive government would ensure that N8.83 trillion is prudently utilised to address these gaps. But not the Tinubu administration,” he said.
The former presidential candidate also renewed his call for President Tinubu to resign, saying recent developments had reinforced his earlier position.
“A few days ago, I called on President Tinubu to resign from office for incompetence, lack of capacity, lack of compassion, and failure to improve on his campaign promises. Some people thought perhaps the call was excessive.
“But with the daily revelations of pervasive corruption in this administration and its total lack of commitment to the welfare and security of Nigerian citizens, the only reasonable action is for President Tinubu to resign from office.
“The collapse of elementary forms of due process under Tinubu and the increased evidence of rampant looting of Nigerian public finances” he said, “reinforce the need for greater accountability. It is now time for Nigerian citizens to rise within the law and hold this administration to account.”
