Nigeria's Debt Servicing Exceeds Health, Education Budgets

Former Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi criticized President Bola Tinubu's administration for Nigeria's increasing debt servicing obligations, which he claims are nearly three times higher than the combined allocations for health, education, and poverty alleviation. Obi stated that Nigeria's debt servicing is estimated at between 17 trillion and 18 trillion naira, while the 2026 budget allocates 2.46 trillion naira for health, 2.56 trillion naira for education, and 865 billion naira for poverty alleviation, totaling 5.885 trillion naira.

He expressed concern that a significant portion of previous borrowings has been spent on consumption rather than visible development impacts. Obi noted that the current debt servicing obligations are largely a result of borrowing under the Tinubu administration, which continues at an alarming rate.

He emphasized that while borrowing can be justified when directed towards productive investments, Nigeria's situation differs as much of the past borrowing has not yielded sustainable development outcomes.