In a pointed public challenge, former Anambra governor and 2023 presidential candidate Peter Obi has pressed the federal government and the Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) to produce full evidence of the claim that over ₦1 trillion was disbursed to micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) nationwide since 2015.

Obi’s demand followed a DBN disclosure asserting that it had supported more than 69,000 MSMEs — including in Nigeria’s most economically vulnerable states — with accumulated disbursements exceeding ₦1 trillion.

Though the claim is significant, Obi says it lacks credibility without concrete proof:

“If indeed such an amount was deployed to support enterprises, the results should be evident… But the reality before us today tells a different story.”

He further argued that many small business owners he has spoken with are unaware that DBN exists, let alone that they or anyone in their communities benefited from its loans.

He estimates over 80 percent of MSMEs have no knowledge of the bank’s interventions.

Key Questions Obi Poses

In his commentary, Obi framed a set of urgent questions that he believes deserve public answers:

1. Who were the actual beneficiaries? — He wants names, locations, and business profiles.

2. What tangible businesses or projects resulted? — Beyond loan issuance, what enterprises now exist because of the funding?

3. Where is the evidence of jobs created or poverty reduced? — He demands measurable impact, not just numbers on paper.

4. How could so much money be deployed with little visible effect? — Obi contends that if the disbursement were genuine and efficient, its ripple effects should already be felt across the economy.

Without satisfying answers, he warned, the ₦1 trillion figure risks being dismissed as “another round of grand deception, where scarce national resources are captured by a few elites.”

The Government’s Position & the Silence So Far

DBN had earlier defended its figures, claiming that the disbursements had reached states such as Borno, Yobe, Katsina, Zamfara, and Adamawa — regions typically considered marginal in terms of financial inclusion.

Yet, the optics remain unfavorable. Critics note that Nigeria continues to wrestle with high unemployment, declining business survival, outward capital flight, and widening poverty. How could billions in claimed loans not manifest in visible improvement?

To date, the FG or DBN have not released a detailed breakdown responsive to Obi’s demand.

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The former governor insists that transparency is nonnegotiable: citizens deserve not just lofty claims, but verifiable results.

Why It Matters

This scrutiny comes at a time when public trust in government interventions is fragile.

Nigeria’s economy faces multiple headwinds — inflation, debt burdens, employment deficits — and many empowerment or stimulus programs in the past have been criticized for opacity or elite capture.

By demanding evidence, Obi is tapping into a broader hunger for accountability.

For citizens and stakeholders, the ₦1 trillion claim should not be merely a headline — it should be a verifiable ledger of progress or failure.