Obi Renews Call For Tinubu’s Resignation, Amid IMF Off-Budget Spending Claim

The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) Mr. Peter Obi, has reiterated his call for President Bola Tinubu to resign following a claim by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that Nigeria failed to record some public spending in various budgets.

On Wednesday July 1, the resident representative of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Nigeria Christian Ebeke, said that the off-budget is worth 2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP).

In his revelation, Ebeke said the discrepancy means Nigeria’s fiscal deficit appears smaller than the government’s actual borrowing needs.

In a statement on Sunday July 5, Obi said the claim raises concerns about the scale of grand corruption under President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

“The IMF now reveals that about N8.83 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,” he said.

Obi said the amount is over 35 percent of Nigeria’s 2025 N23.96 trillion capital project budget, and more than the actual released capital funding for 2025.

“It is more than the entire combined budget for education (N3.52 trillion) and health (N2.38 trillion),” the former governor of Anambra state said.

“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. 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 alleged that the revelation by the IMF shows the All Progressive Congress (APC) government, which is the ruling party, 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.