Financial recklessness is becoming normal in Tinubu’s govt, says Peter Obi

By Desire Emmanuel

The presidential candidate of the Labour Party during the 2023 general election, Peter Obi, on Wednesday, January 7, raised the alarm, saying financial recklessness is being normalised in the administration of President Bola Tinubu.

Obi, who defected from the Labour Party to the African Democratic Congress (ADC) last week, said in a post on his verified X handle that there was no justification for the Tinubu government to write off ₦5.57 trillion and $1.42 billion—approximately ₦8 trillion—in debts owed by Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).

Peter Obi wrote: “Financial recklessness is increasingly becoming normalised in our country. Just last week, it was alarmingly reported that the president approved the write-off of ₦5.57 trillion and $1.42 billion—approximately ₦8 trillion—in debts owed by NNPCL, a company that recently announced profits and claimed it had turned a new leaf.

“This is the same agency currently facing serious audit inquiries for failing to account for ₦210 trillion, an amount that far exceeds the combined federal budgets of Nigeria from 2023 to 2026.

“For context, the Federal Government’s budgets for these years were approximately: ₦21.83 trillion for 2023, ₦43.56 trillion for 2024, ₦54.99 trillion for 2025, and an estimated ₦58.18 trillion for 2026. The total budget for these four years amounts to roughly ₦178.56 trillion.

“Nigerians are still waiting for the outcome of the National Assembly investigation into the missing trillions. This company is also under scrutiny for trillions spent on non-functional refineries. Yet, the president, who also serves as the minister in charge, has approved the write-off of about ₦8 trillion in NNPCL debts.

“Nigerians, already enduring severe hardships due to the removal of petroleum and electricity subsidies—with no tangible improvements in their lives—are now confronted with this unexplained debt forgiveness. The nearly ₦8 trillion write-off will effectively replace revenue that the government is currently seeking through unfair taxation.

“It is imperative that the government provides a clear and transparent justification for the write-off, given the immense impact such a large amount of resources could have on national development.

“This almost ₦8 trillion write-off could have generated the revenue the government now seeks through these unfair taxes. The amount exceeds the 2025 combined federal budget allocations for education, health, and agriculture, which total ₦7.1 trillion.

“In practical terms, this money alone could fully fund critical areas of development, lifting millions of Nigerians out of poverty and significantly reducing the over 130 million people currently living in poverty in the country.

“The write-off sum of ₦8 trillion is nearly twice the 2025 federal security budget of ₦4.9 trillion, even as insecurity continues to devastate communities across the nation.

“Such resources could empower eight million youths—10% of the 80 million unemployed—creating approximately 1,000 jobs for each of the 8,809 wards, thus substantially reducing the 130 million impoverished individuals in the country.

“The president, who is also the minister, owes the Nigerian people clear answers. The citizens deserve honesty, fiscal discipline, and governance that protects their interests—not the interests of mismanaged corporations or political elites. This betrayal of the people must be stopped.”