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By Our Correspondent

ABUJA, Nigeria – In a blistering attack on the Bola Tinubu administration, Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate Peter Obi has declared that “grand corruption” has become the nation’s greatest threat, demanding the president’s immediate resignation after a bombshell International Monetary Fund (IMF) report revealed nearly N9 trillion in off-the-books spending.

Citing the IMF’s latest consultation findings, Obi revealed that approximately N8.83 trillion in public expenditure undertaken during the 2025 fiscal year was never captured in the national budget. He described the development as a “horrible” breach of elementary public finance that poses a direct threat to Nigeria’s national security and state stability .

“The recent IMF consultation further raises concerns about the scale of grand corruption under the Tinubu government,” Obi stated in a post on X. “This expenditure is not budgeted and is therefore not under legislative oversight or administrative scrutiny. This is horrible.”

The staggering figure, according to Obi, represents over 35% of Nigeria’s entire N23.96 trillion capital project budget for 2025. In stark terms, the unaccounted sum surpasses the combined budgetary allocations for the nation’s education and health sectors—a comparison that highlights the administration’s “total lack of commitment to the welfare of citizens” .

“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,” the NDC presidential candidate argued. Instead, he lamented that the funds have vanished without a trace, calling it a “pattern of grand corruption that has become part of this administration.”

The IMF revelations have sent shockwaves through Nigeria’s political landscape. Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has also weighed in, challenging the government to explain what he termed the “missing two percent of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product” and labeling the situation a “constitutional, legal and moral scandal” .

Obi doubled down on his recent call for President Tinubu to step down, arguing that the “collapse of elementary forms of due process” and “rampant looting of public finances” have rendered the administration incompetent and insensitive to the growing poverty crisis .

“A few days ago, I called on President Tinubu to resign from office for incompetence, lack of capacity, lack of compassion… But with the daily revelations of pervasive corruption in this administration, the only reasonable action is for President Tinubu to resign from office,” Obi asserted .

As the political opposition rallies for an investigation, Obi has urged Nigerian citizens to “rise within the law and hold this administration to account,” maintaining that the path to a “New Nigeria” requires an end to the impunity currently undermining state stability .