Former presidential aide, Reno Omokri, has slammed Labour Party’s Peter Obi for spreading what he called a false claim about President Bola Tinubu’s borrowing. According to Omokri, Obi wrongly said that Tinubu had borrowed more than past presidents including Obasanjo, Yar’Adua, Jonathan, and Buhari combined.

He went on to describe Peter Obi as a “manipulative trader” who, in his view, is not fit to be a true leader. Omokri accused Obi of using falsehoods in a desperate attempt to become Nigeria’s president.

Omokri pointed out that Nigeria’s total debt has actually gone down, not up. He claimed it reduced from $108.2 billion when Tinubu came into power in May 2023 to $94.2 billion at present.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Omokri argued that Obi used a misleading currency exchange to create the impression that Nigeria’s debt had increased. Obi, he said, converted the $94.2 billion using the new exchange rate of ₦1560 to $1, which made the debt look much higher in naira.

He explained that back in 2023, Nigeria’s total debt stood at ₦49.85 trillion with an exchange rate of ₦400 to $1. By the end of 2024, the debt had risen to ₦144.67 trillion—but that figure was calculated using the much weaker rate of ₦1536 to $1.

So, while the naira amount of the debt seems bigger, Omokri said that in dollar terms, Nigeria actually owes less now. He claimed the debt has dropped by over $14 billion.

Omokri promised to back up his claims with facts from the Debt Management Office. He said he will appear on live television to show Nigerians the truth with proof.

Calling Obi a threat to national security, Omokri said spreading such lies on national media could mislead both Nigerians and foreigners. This could scare investors and make them pull out of the country.

He ended by warning that Peter Obi’s statements could hurt the Nigerian economy and everyday people. According to Omokri, Obi’s hunger to become president has made him reckless with his words.