IMF’s ₦8.83tn Off-Budget Spending Claim Shows Tinubu Should Resign, Says Obi

The  Presidential  Candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), 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 capture some public spending in its recent budgets.

On Wednesday, Christian Ebeke, the IMF’s resident representative in Nigeria, said the off-budget expenditure was equivalent to about two per cent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), adding that the discrepancy meant Nigeria’s fiscal deficit appeared smaller than the government’s actual borrowing needs.

In a statement issued on Sunday, Obi said the IMF’s disclosure raised fresh concerns about what he described as the scale of grand corruption under President 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.

“It is more than the entire combined budget for education (N3.52 trillion) and health (N2.38 trillion),” the former Anambra State governor 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 IMF’s revelation showed the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) government was “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 added.

Renewing his earlier call for Tinubu to step down, Obi said the latest allegations, coupled with the administration’s handling of governance and insecurity, were sufficient grounds for the President’s resignation.

“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,” he said.

“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 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 demand came 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 IMF’s claim of unrecorded public expenditure.