The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has accused the administration of President Bola Tinubu of gross financial mismanagement following claims that ₦8.83 trillion allegedly spent in 2025 was not captured in the national budget.
Obi made the allegation in a statement posted on his X account on Sunday, citing findings from what he described as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) consultation report.
According to the former Anambra State governor, the reported expenditure was not appropriated by the National Assembly and was therefore outside the scope of legislative oversight and administrative accountability.
“The recent report from the IMF consultation further raises concerns about the scale of grand corruption under the Tinubu government.
The IMF now reveals that about ₦8.83 trillion in expenditure undertaken in 2025 is not reflected in the budget.
This expenditure is not budgeted and is therefore not under legislative oversight or administrative scrutiny. This is horrible,” Obi stated.
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He argued that the amount represents approximately two per cent of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and more than 35 per cent of the country’s ₦23.96 trillion capital expenditure allocation for the 2025 fiscal year.
Obi further noted that the reported expenditure exceeded the combined budgetary allocations to the education and health sectors, insisting that such resources could have significantly improved critical public services, generated employment and stimulated economic growth if properly managed.
He alleged that the development reflected what he described as a pattern of financial recklessness and weak public financial management under the current administration.
According to him, spending public funds outside the approved national budget undermines transparency, weakens accountability and raises serious concerns about the government’s commitment to prudent fiscal management.
The former governor described the Tinubu administration as “grossly corrupt, incompetent and insensitive,” arguing that the reported off-budget expenditure further demonstrated the need for greater transparency and accountability in the management of public resources.
Obi also renewed his call for President Tinubu to resign, citing what he described as incompetence, failure to fulfil campaign promises and an alleged inability to address the country’s economic and security challenges.
He urged Nigerians to continue demanding accountability through lawful and democratic means, stressing that good governance remains essential to national development.
As of the time of filing this report, neither the Presidency nor the Federal Government had issued an official response to Obi’s allegations.