Alleged ₦8.83tn Off-Budget Spending: Obi Renews Call for Tinubu’s Resignation, Labels His Government Grossly Corrupt
Former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi has renewed his call for the resignation of President Bola Tinubu, citing the alleged ₦8.83 trillion off-budget spending in 2025, as referenced by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Representative in Nigeria and the Fund’s 2026 Article IV Consultation Report.
Reacting to the development, Obi stated that the IMF consultation report further raises concerns about what he described as the scale of grand corruption under the Tinubu administration.
“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,” he decried.
He highlighted the breakdown, noting that the ₦8.83 trillion represents about 2% of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and more than 35% of the country’s ₦23.96 trillion capital budget for 2025.
Obi also pointed out that the amount is more than the actual capital funding released for 2025 and exceeds the combined allocations for education (₦3.52 trillion) and health (₦2.38 trillion).
He emphasised that if such an amount were properly utilised and accounted for, it could transform Nigeria’s public health and education sectors, create hundreds of cottage industries capable of providing jobs for thousands of graduates, and lay a solid foundation for economic development.
“But we cannot account for it. This is not an isolated incident,” he said, lamenting that it reflects what he described as a pattern of grand corruption that has become part of President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
He expressed concern about the state of corruption under President Tinubu, stressing that it is ingrained in a total disregard for the elementary rules of public finance management and poses a grave danger to national security and the stability of the Nigerian state.
According to him, the capture of the Nigerian state and the plunder of its resources undermine the foundations of state stability while deepening poverty and state failure.
“This recent revelation proves that the APC government is grossly corrupt, incompetent, and insensitive,” he asserted. “With the growing poverty and the urgent need for significant upgrades to social and physical infrastructure, a responsible and responsive government would ensure that ₦8.83 trillion is prudently utilised to address these gaps. But not the Tinubu administration.”
Obi recalled that he had earlier called for President Tinubu’s resignation, citing incompetence, lack of capacity, lack of compassion, and failure to fulfil 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,” he maintained.
Obi argued that the collapse of elementary due process under the Tinubu administration and what he described as increasing evidence of rampant looting of public finances reinforce the need for greater accountability.
He further urged Nigerians to act within the law and hold the Tinubu administration accountable.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government, in a statement issued on Sunday by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, debunked the claims, saying those making the allegations should identify the specific projects purportedly executed without appropriation or legal authority and present credible evidence.
