Obi Renews Call for Tinubu’s Resignation Over IMF’s ₦8.83tn Off-Budget Spending Claim

The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has renewed his call for President Bola Tinubu to resign from office, citing the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) disclosure that about ₦8.83 trillion in Nigeria’s 2025 expenditure was incurred outside the approved federal budget.

Obi described the revelation as further evidence of what he called a disturbing pattern of poor fiscal accountability, weak public finance management and systemic corruption under the current administration.

The renewed criticism follows comments by the IMF’s Resident Representative in Nigeria, Christian Ebeke, who disclosed that government spending amounting to approximately 2 per cent of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was not reflected in the 2025 Appropriation Act.

According to the IMF, the omission understated Nigeria’s fiscal deficit by excluding significant expenditure from the official budget, making the country's borrowing requirements appear lower than they actually were.

Reacting in a statement posted on his official X account on Sunday, Obi argued that such expenditure escaped both legislative oversight and the administrative scrutiny required under Nigeria’s public finance framework.

“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 wrote.

The former Anambra State governor said the amount involved exceeded the combined allocations to Nigeria’s education and health sectors in the 2025 budget, arguing that proper deployment of such resources could have significantly transformed critical sectors of the economy.

“It is more than the entire combined budget for education (₦3.52 trillion) and health (₦2.38 trillion).

“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.”

Obi alleged that the latest IMF disclosure reflected what he described as entrenched corruption within the Tinubu administration.

“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.”

According to him, persistent violations of established financial procedures undermine governance, deepen poverty and weaken public confidence in government institutions.

“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,” he added.

Obi maintained that the IMF's latest disclosure reinforces his earlier position that President Tinubu should resign over what he described as poor governance, worsening insecurity and economic hardship.

He said those who previously criticised his demand for the President to leave office should reconsider in light of emerging revelations concerning government finances.

“A few days ago, I called on President Tinubu to resign from office for incompetence, lack of capacity, lack of compassion, and failure to improve on 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.”

The former presidential candidate further argued that Nigeria's democratic institutions and accountability mechanisms were being weakened by what he described as the collapse of due process in public financial management.

“The collapse of elementary forms of due process under Tinubu and the increased evidence of rampant looting of Nigerian public finances reinforce the need for greater accountability.

“It is now time for Nigerian citizens to rise within the law and hold this administration to account.”

Obi's latest remarks come amid mounting opposition reactions to the IMF's assessment of Nigeria's fiscal operations.

On Saturday, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar also called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to investigate the reported off-budget expenditure, arguing that Nigerians deserve a full explanation of how the funds were utilised.

The IMF disclosure has intensified public debate over fiscal transparency and accountability, with opposition figures demanding greater oversight of government spending and stricter adherence to constitutional budgetary processes.

While the opposition has seized on the report to criticise the Tinubu administration, the Federal Government is yet to issue a detailed response specifically addressing Obi's latest comments.