Presidential Candidate of Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has renewed his demand for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to resign.
This time around, he argued that the latest disclosure by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Nigeria’s off-budget expenditure has reinforced concerns over accountability, corruption and fiscal management under the current administration.
Obi, in a statement issued on Sunday, hinged his renewed call on the IMF’s recent disclosure that public expenditure equivalent to about two per cent of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2025 was not captured in the country’s budget.
According to him, the reported expenditure, which he put at about N8.83 trillion, was undertaken outside the approved budgetary framework and therefore escaped legislative oversight and administrative scrutiny.
Describing the development as “horrible,” Obi argued that the amount represented more than one-third of the country’s 2025 capital expenditure budget of N23.96 trillion.
He further said the figure also exceeded the combined allocations to the education and health sectors in the current fiscal year.
“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,” Obi said.
The former Anambra State governor maintained that prudent deployment of such resources could have significantly improved healthcare, education, job creation and industrial development across the country.
Instead, he alleged that the revelation reflected a recurring pattern of financial mismanagement.
“This is not an isolated incident. This is a pattern of grand corruption that has become part of this administration,” he stated.
Obi also argued that persistent disregard for established public finance procedures poses serious risks to national security, institutional stability and economic development.
He accused the administration of failing to prioritise the welfare of citizens despite worsening poverty and infrastructure deficits.
According to him, a government committed to improving living conditions would ensure that resources of such magnitude were transparently managed and channelled towards critical sectors.
The opposition figure said the latest disclosure further justified his earlier demand that Tinubu should vacate office.
He recalled that his previous call for the President’s resignation was based on “incompetence, failure to fulfil campaign promises and inability to address insecurity and economic hardship”.
Obi said subsequent developments, particularly the IMF’s disclosure, had strengthened his conviction that the administration had failed in its responsibilities.
“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,” he said.
He further urged Nigerians to lawfully demand greater accountability from those in government, insisting that public institutions must not allow due process in fiscal management to collapse.
The renewed criticism follows comments by IMF Resident Representative in Nigeria, Christian Ebeke, who said last Wednesday that about two per cent of Nigeria’s GDP was spent outside the budget in 2025, making the country’s fiscal deficit appear smaller than its actual borrowing requirements.
The IMF official said the discrepancy suggested that the government’s financing needs were higher than reflected in official budget figures.
Obi’s latest intervention also comes a day after former Vice President Atiku Abubakar called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to investigate the off-budget spending allegation.