The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has claimed that the N49.7 trillion 2025 federal budget presented by President Bola Tinubu “will worsen unemployment and inflation rates and push millions more Nigerians into abject poverty and invariably heighten insecurity.”
This was disclosed by the opposition party in a press statement on Wednesday by Honourable Debo Ologunagba, PDP, National Publicity Secretary.
The PDP’s alleged that given the “crippled national productive sector,” with the expenditure, including N15.8 trillion provision for debt services, the projected N34.8 trillion revenue with a deficit in trillions will be allegedly financed by “excruciating taxes and levies on already impoverished citizens and companies operating in the country.”
“The 2025 budget as proposed will shrink our national business environment, further cripple the productive sector, discourage domestic and foreign investors, lead to further depreciation of the Naira, worsen unemployment and inflation rates, and push millions more Nigerians into abject poverty and invariably heighten insecurity,” the PDP maintained.
The PDP argued that the budget is insensitive towards the plight of Nigerians as it allegedly made no meaningful provisions and investments for critical productive sectors of agriculture and food production, electricity, petroleum and gas, and small and medium scale enterprises, which are the real drivers of the national economy.
“The PDP is dismayed that instead, the budget speech was an assault on the sensibility of Nigerians when Mr. President claimed that the 2024 budget recorded a bogus 85% performance without a breakdown of the component between recurrent and capital expenditure.
“Further distressing is President Tinubu’s claim that the economy improved under his watch even in the face of acute poverty, excruciating hardship, comatose infrastructure, collapsed productive sectors, deteriorating value of the Naira, alarming 34.6% inflation, and 40% unemployment rates in the last 18 months as validated by official figures.
“Equally ludicrous is Mr. President’s voodoo economy claim that the 2025 budget will reduce the current inflation rate from 34.6% to 15% and improve the value of the Naira from approximately N1,700 to the Dollar to N1,500 without any indices for tangible investment in the productive sector and in the face of a staggering N134.3 trillion ($91.3 billion) debt accumulated under the APC watch,” the statement partly reads.
The PDP called on the National Assembly not to pass the 2025 budget as presented but to activate its legislative powers as guaranteed under Sections 80, 81, and 82 of the 1999 Constitution to rejig the budget and make provisions that are critical and pivotal to the growth of the economy and the welfare of Nigerians.
The PDP is one of the nation’s opposition political parties, having held sway over the nation’s federal government from 1999 to mid-2015.
The President acknowledged the efforts made to drive Nigeria’s recovery and economic growth following challenges in the global and domestic economic environment.
Tinubu said his administration remains focused on stimulating the economy through public investments.
“While challenges persist, we improved revenue collection and fulfilled key obligations. The transformational effects of this on our economy are gradually being felt,” Tinubu stated.
The President noted that increased government spending on infrastructure, security, and human capital development was essential to fostering growth and recovery.