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Nigeria’s presidency and former presidential candidate Peter Obi disagreed on Thursday over the government’s borrowing practices, after Obi described the country’s debt as “a killer cancer.”
Obi, who ran for president under the Labour Party in 2023, posted on X that borrowing is dangerous when used for consumption rather than productive investment.
“Mr. President, borrowing is not only a leprosy, but a killer cancer when it is borrowed for consumption and not production as it is in Nigeria today,” Obi wrote.
He said Nigeria’s loans have not created jobs, boosted the economy, or improved living standards.
“Debt that is not tied to measurable economic value. Debt that does not translate into jobs, growth, or improved living standards for the Nigerian people,” he said.
Obi cited the Fiscal Responsibility Act 2007, which requires a cost-benefit analysis for any government borrowing.
“Most of the borrowings by this government do not satisfy the requirements of law or the requirements of economic common sense,” he said.
He also raised concerns about Nigeria’s debt-servicing ratio, arguing that it limits spending on human development and future growth.
“If the money is wrongly spent as we do in Nigeria currently, it becomes double jeopardy because you are using current revenue to service debts that did not add to revenue or improve capacity for more production in the future,” Obi said.
When Borrowing is Leprosy and cancerous.
Mr. President, borrowing is not only a leprosy, but a killer cancer when it is borrowed for consumption and not production as it is in Nigeria today.
Borrowing for consumption slowly eats away at the health, reputation, and autonomy of…
— Peter Obi (@PeterObi) April 30, 2026
Presidency responds
Bayo Onanuga, special adviser to President Bola Tinubu on information and strategy, dismissed Obi’s comments.
Onanuga stated that every sovereign nation borrows and echoed Tinubu’s earlier remark that “borrowing is not leprosy.”
“Mr Peter Obi, you have come again with your demagoguery,” Onanuga said.
“What point are you trying to make about borrowing? Every sovereign nation borrows, and as President Tinubu rightly said, borrowing is not leprosy.”
Onanuga said the administration has been borrowing to finance infrastructure, not consumption.
“If you must know, this administration has been borrowing to finance much-needed infrastructure, not consumption. The fact that we are receiving funds and have willing lenders shows that our country is credible and capable of repaying.”
He urged Obi to use rational arguments rather than emotional reactions.
“As a politician, you need to rise above the pedestrian level and address issues of the day with rational argument, not emotional reactions on the streets and Twittersphere,” Onanuga said.
Mr Peter Obi, you have come again with your demagoguery. What point are you trying to make about borrowing? Every sovereign nation borrows, and as President Tinubu rightly said, borrowing is not leprosy. If you must know, this administration has been borrowing to finance…
— Bayo Onanuga, OON, CON (@aonanuga1956) April 30, 2026
