Peter Obi yesterday frowned on President Bola Tinubu’s plans to spend about $11.6 billion on debt servicing, saying this “should concern anyone interested in the country’s economic future and longterm development”.

In a post on his X handle, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential aspirant raised concerns over the Federal Government’s persistent borrowing without anything to show for it Obi said the government has budgeted between N17 and N18 trillion for debt servicing, which he said is about three times the combined allocations to health (N2.46 trillion), education (N2.56 trillion), and poverty alleviation (N865 billion).

He cited countries such as Japan, the United Kingdom, United States, United Arab Emirates, Singapore, and Indonesia as examples of economies that manage high debt levels by investing in infrastructure, education, healthcare, and innovation.

However, the former Anambra State governor argued that Nigeria’s borrowing history differs significantly from these countries, stating that a large portion of past loans has been directed toward consumption rather than productive development outcomes.

According to him, Nigeria’s debt stock has continued to rise under the Tinubu government, which, according to him, would amount to $7.8 billion, if the proposed $1.25 billion World Bank facility and $516 million arranged through Deutsche Bank are added to the about $6 billion already existing external loans. This, he added, is outside the continued domestic borrowing through regular bond issuances.