Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 general election, has criticised the high rate of corruption under President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

Mr Obi said that malfeasance and mismanagement of public funds, which have spread across all spheres of government, have become normalized under Mr Tinubu’s watch.

“Corruption, official malfeasance, fiscal profligacy, and the mismanagement of public resources continue to rise astronomically in our country, spreading across all spheres of government. Similarly, nepotism and the disregard for the Constitution, the rule of law, and due process have become the norm,” Mr Obi said on Thursday.

He made these remarks in a New Year speech advising the president on the economic state of the country.

The former Anambra governor also expressed concerns about Nigeria’s growing debt profile and record-high inflation under Mr Tinubu.

“Our national debt has risen astronomically, from approximately N15 trillion in 2015 to N100 trillion today. This sharp increase has occurred within the past 18 months under the current administration. Ironically, these borrowings are largely allocated to non-regenerative programmes and projects, leaving little to no tangible developmental assets to show for the debt.

“Inflation remains at an all-time high, businesses are collapsing, and manufacturing companies are barely surviving, further contributing to the already high unemployment rate,” he said.

He urged Mr Tinubu to begin with visible and verifiable reductions in governance costs to allocate resources to critical areas like security, health, education, and poverty alleviation.

“Aggressive and visible attention should be given to combating corruption effectively. While addressing past corrupt activities, we must ensure proper investigations and recoveries related to missing funds or their sources. The focus should be on eliminating current and future official malfeasance through increased transparency and accountability in public procurement and contract award processes, as well as thorough monitoring of execution to ensure that limited resources are efficiently utilized and applied productively.

“All future borrowing must be tied to regenerative investments and visible, productive assets that benefit the nation. This will ensure both productivity and the ability to service and amortize such loans, rather than continuing the current practice of accumulating massive debt with no tangible returns,” he said.