Economy
Peter Obi Screams: Nigeria’s Debt Could Reach N200trn by End of 2025
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Labour Party presidential candidate in the 2023 general elections, Mr Peter Obi, has expressed deep concern over Nigeria’s rapidly escalating debt profile, warning it could reach N200 trillion by the end of the year.
In a statement on his X handle, Mr Obi lamented that the country’s fiscal trajectory could compromise future generations and worsen living conditions for millions of citizens.
His warning comes one week after the Senate approved a fresh wave of borrowing for the country.
According to Mr Obi, the latest approvals include $21 billion, €2.2 billion, and ¥15 billion in new external loans for the 2025–2026 fiscal cycle, in addition to a N750.98 billion domestic bond issuance and a €65 million grant.
These measures, he said, bring the nation’s total public debt to approximately N187 trillion, with projections suggesting it could exceed N200 trillion by year-end.
“With an already existing public debt of about N149.39 trillion as at the first quarter of 2025, adding the approved loans of about N37.2 trillion brings our current total debt to about N187 trillion, with concerns that our debt might likely be over N200 trillion by the end of 2025,” he said.
“We are accumulating exponential levels of unsustainable debt with little or nothing to show for it in critical areas such as education, healthcare, electricity generation, and security,” Mr Obi stated.
He said Nigeria’s pre-rebased GDP stood at N269.2 trillion (around $180 billion), meaning total borrowing now represents nearly 70 per cent of the previous GDP. Even after the recent GDP rebasing, which revised the figure upward to N372.8 trillion (approximately $243.7 billion), Nigeria’s debt-to-GDP ratio now hovers at 50.16 per cent, making it the highest in its history.
He emphasised that while Nigeria reported a year-on-year debt increase of N27.72 trillion and a quarter-on-quarter rise of N4.72 trillion, key development metrics remain stagnant or deteriorating.
Mr Obi warned that Nigeria continues to lag on basic infrastructure with roughly 135,000 kilometres of Nigeria’s 195,000 km road network remaining unpaved, adding that electricity supply has stagnated below 5,000 megawatts for a population of over 200 million.
He also cited alarming statistics on poverty and malnutrition, noting that 133 million Nigerians—around 63% of the population—are now classified as multi-dimensionally poor.
He called attention to a report from Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), also known as Doctors Without Borders, that disclosed the deaths of 652 children in Northern Nigeria due to malnutrition, singling out Katsina State as one of the most affected.
“This is a country blessed with enormous resources, yet nobody should go to bed hungry,” he said. “A persistent deficiency in leadership has thrown the majority of our citizens into increasing poverty.”
He stressed that borrowing is not inherently detrimental if targeted at productive, high-impact investments with transparent and measurable outcomes. However, he accused the current administration of fiscal irresponsibility.
“This pattern of borrowing without accountability and transformational impact is simply mortgaging the future of our children,” he stated. “The government should show minimum consideration for the future of young and unborn Nigerians.”
He appealed for economic reform, urging the government to cut wasteful spending, block revenue leakages, and prioritise investments in human capital.
“It is time to stop this fiscal indiscipline. We must build a New Nigeria, where leadership is responsible, development is people-centred, and every kobo borrowed or spent delivers measurable impact,” he quipped.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Shares of First Holdco Plc worth N45.0 billion issued through a private placement have been listed on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited.
A circular issued by the Head of Issuer Regulation Department of the NGX Regulation Limited, Mr Godstime Iwenekhai, disclosed that the equities were admitted for trading at the stock market on Monday.
According to the notice, the additional shares brought for listing to rank pari passu with existing shares of the organisation were 1,021,334,544 units.
These stocks were sold to one of the company’s major shareholders at a unit price of N44.06, amounting to N45.0 billion.
The total issued and fully paid-up shares of First Holdco, as a result of this listing, are now 45,475,027,677 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each.
“Trading licence holders are hereby notified that an additional 1,021,334,544 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each of First Holdco Plc were on Monday, June 22, 2026, listed on the daily official list of Nigerian Exchange Limited.
“The additional shares listed on NGX arose from the company’s private placement of 1,021,334,544 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each at N44.06 per share.
“With the listing of the additional shares, the total issued and fully paid-up shares of First Holdco Plc have now increased to 45,475,027,677 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each from 44,453,693,133 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each,” the disclosure stated.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has approved fresh import licences for petrol and diesel for the third quarter of 2026 (July – September) to prevent potential supply shortages in the domestic market.
According to a report by global energy intelligence firm, Argus Media, the latest approvals were issued to major downstream operators amid declining fuel stock levels and concerns over reduced petrol production at the 700,000 barrels per day Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Lagos.
The move comes as Nigeria continues to balance increasing local refining capacity with the need to guarantee adequate supplies of petroleum products across the country.
According to the Argus report, domestic firms, including AA Rano, AYM Shafa, Bono Energy, Nipco, Matrix Energy and Pinnacle Oil, received permits to import Premium Motor Spirit, popularly known as petrol, during the July-September period.
The publication further reported that the same companies, with the exception of Nipco, were granted approvals to import Automotive Gas Oil, commonly known as diesel. The fresh approvals follow an earlier batch of petrol import permits issued by the regulator in May, covering about 720,000 metric tonnes.
Quoting a regulatory source, Argus noted that many of the companies granted the latest approvals were among those that had received permits in previous rounds. “These are some of the same ones that previously received the PMS permits,” the source was quoted as saying.
It was also claimed that AA Rano and Matrix Energy each received approvals to import 180,000 metric tonnes of petrol. AYM Shafa received approval for 120,000 metric tonnes, while Pinnacle Oil received a permit covering 150,000 metric tonnes.
For diesel imports, Argus reported that AYM Shafa obtained a permit for 60,000 metric tonnes, while Pinnacle secured approval for 45,000 metric tonnes. The report stated that the import approvals were issued only recently, after being delayed from an initial target date of June 15.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Three securities weakened the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 1.01 per cent on Tuesday, June 23, dragging the market capitalisation down by N25.91 billion to N2.544 trillion from Monday’s N2.570 trillion. Also, the NASD Security Index (NSI) decreased by 43.17 points to 4,239.34 points from 4,282.51 points.
The triplet price losers were Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc, which gave up N4.82 to trade at N75.00 per unit versus Monday’s closing price of N79.82 per unit. NASD Plc depreciated by N3.70 to close at N33.30 per share compared with the preceding day’s N37.00 per share, and Nitrox Industrial Gases Plc marginally lost 1 Kobo to sell at N21.41 per unit, in contrast to the previous session’s N21.42 per unit.
Tuesday’s trading data showed that the volume of securities traded by investors retreated by 35.9 per cent to 211,671 units from 330,034 units, and the value of securities fell by 82.9 per cent to N5.6 million from N32.7 million, while the number of deals doubled to 38 deals from 19 deals.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc was the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units valued at N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 68.1 million units transacted for N4.7 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the trading day as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, trailed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units exchanged for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units sold for N415.7 million.
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