The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has faulted the 2026 budget proposal submitted by President Bola Tinubu to the national assembly.
Recall that Tinubu on Friday presented a N58.18 trillion 2026 appropriation bill to a joint session of the national assembly.
In a statement on Monday, Bolaji Abdullahi, ADC spokesperson, described the budget as a “copy and paste budget from previous years”.
Abdullahi said the document, despite being tagged the “Budget of Consolidation, Renewed Resilience and Shared Prosperity”, reflects continued fiscal excesses and unrealistic assumptions.
The ADC spokesperson added that the party’s team of economists conducted a preliminary review of the spending plan.
“Like its predecessors, it risks ending as another unimplemented document, with real execution pushed into the future,” the statement reads.
“Nigeria is being asked to accept a new fiscal framework at a time when the 2025 budget was only recently repealed and reenacted, an unprecedented display of fiscal chaos and administrative incompetence.
“This government is attempting to build a house on quicksand.”
The party warned that approving the proposal in its current form would worsen public debt and deepen economic hardship.
The party accused the Tinubu administration of deferring tough fiscal reforms while depending heavily on borrowing that shifts the burden to future generations.
Abdullahi said sustainable economic recovery requires fiscal discipline and credible budgeting rather than monetary policy adjustments alone.
He criticised what he described as the practice of running multiple national budgets concurrently, calling it unprecedented fiscal disorder.
He said government revenue rose to about N20 trillion in 2024, yet the deficit widened to N23.85 trillion, with most capital spending dependent on costly loans.
“It is unforgivable to saddle future generations with massive debt to fund opaque and reckless spending today,” Abdullahi said.
He added that debt servicing is projected to increase from N12.63 trillion in 2024 to N15.52 trillion in 2026, warning that the trend is unsustainable.
The party urged the federal government to pursue a new economic path built on fiscal responsibility, transparency and policies that prioritise citizens’ welfare.