BY AHMED AKANBI

The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has slammed President Bola Tinubu’s administration over N7.7 trillion spent on debt interest in the first half of 2026.

Obi said the amount exceeds the Federal Government’s total revenue for the period, raising fresh fears about debt sustainability despite rising earnings.

He spoke in a post on X while reacting to the World Bank report titled ‘Beyond the Federal Purse, How Higher Revenues Reshaped State Priorities’.

According to figures he cited from the report, the government earned N6.2 trillion between January and June 2026 but spent N7.7 trillion on debt interest alone.

This leaves a gap of about N1.5 trillion, with interest payments gulping 124.2 per cent of revenue.

Obi questioned how Nigeria can sustain its debt burden when interest alone wipes out all revenue and more, despite increased income since 2023.

He also flagged a drop of about N700 billion in capital expenditure in H1 2026, noting that interest payments were about 11 times capital spending.

The former Anambra State governor blamed the situation on excessive borrowing, corruption and incompetence.

He argued that reforms should be judged by impact on ordinary Nigerians, not just economic indicators.

According to him, growth, higher revenue and stronger reserves mean little if citizens cannot afford food, healthcare, education and dignified living.

Obi said reported stability has not translated into jobs, lower poverty or better living standards, urging government to rethink policies.

He cited 2025 debt servicing of about N16 trillion, up from N13.02 trillion in 2024 per Debt Management Office data, and about 140 million Nigerians in multidimensional poverty, insisting growth forecasts of 4.3 percent in 2026 mean nothing without real welfare gains.