by George Ozalla
Former presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, has raised serious concerns over what he described as the growing normalization of financial recklessness in Nigeria following reports that President Bola Tinubu approved the write off of ₦5.57 trillion and $1.42 billion, amounting to about ₦8 trillion, in debts owed by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.
According to Obi, the development is troubling given that the same company recently announced profits and claimed it had turned a new leaf, yet remains under intense audit scrutiny for failing to account for an estimated ₦210 trillion. He noted that the figure far exceeds the combined Federal Government budgets from 2023 to 2026, which collectively stand at about ₦178.56 trillion.
Obi recalled that Nigeria’s federal budgets for the period were approximately ₦21.83 trillion in 2023, ₦43.56 trillion in 2024, ₦54.99 trillion in 2025 and an estimated ₦58.18 trillion for 2026, stressing that Nigerians are still awaiting the outcome of the National Assembly’s investigation into the missing trillions.
He further observed that NNPC has also been under scrutiny over trillions of naira reportedly spent on non functional refineries, yet the President, who also serves as the Minister in charge of the petroleum sector, approved the write off of nearly ₦8 trillion in debts owed by the company.
According to Obi, the decision comes at a time Nigerians are grappling with severe economic hardship triggered by the removal of petroleum and electricity subsidies, without any tangible improvement in their living conditions. He argued that the debt forgiveness would effectively replace revenue the government is now attempting to raise through what he described as unfair taxation.
He maintained that the government owes Nigerians a clear and transparent explanation for approving such a massive write off, noting that the resources involved could significantly transform national development if properly deployed.
Obi pointed out that the almost ₦8 trillion write off exceeds the combined 2025 federal budget allocations for education, health and agriculture, which stand at ₦7.1 trillion. He said the amount could fully fund critical sectors, lift millions out of poverty and substantially reduce the more than 130 million Nigerians currently living below the poverty line.
He also noted that the sum is nearly twice the 2025 federal security budget of ₦4.9 trillion, at a time insecurity continues to ravage communities across the country.
According to Obi, such resources could empower about eight million youths, representing ten percent of Nigeria’s estimated 80 million unemployed population, by creating roughly 1,000 jobs in each of the country’s 8,809 wards, with far reaching effects on poverty reduction.
Obi insisted that the President owes Nigerians honest answers, fiscal discipline and governance that prioritises the interests of the people over those of mismanaged corporations or political elites, warning that continued tolerance of such actions undermines public trust and national progress.
