By The President had proposed a capital expenditure of ₦26.08 trillion, while recurrent (non-debt) spending was put at ₦15trillion.
President Bola Tinubu on Friday presented the ₦58.18 trillion 2026 Appropriation Bill to the National Assembly, with debt servicing projected to consume ₦15.52 trillion.
The President proposed a capital expenditure of ₦26.08 trillion, while recurrent (non-debt) spending was put at ₦15 trillion.
The proposal was titled “Budget of Consolidation, Renewed Resilience and Shared Prosperity.”
Meanwhile, the ₦15.52 trillion earmarked for debt servicing represents about 26.7 per cent of total expenditure, exceeding allocations to several key sectors and remaining one of the largest single spending items in the budget.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) criticised the 2026 budget proposal, describing it as a document that consolidates economic hardship, deepens poverty, and reflects a failure of economic management.
In a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Comrade Ini Ememobong, the party dismissed the President’s economic claims, arguing that Nigerians have endured worsening living conditions since the administration assumed office.
“We see it rather as a budget of consolidated renewed sufferings, because what Nigerians have witnessed since the birth of this administration is nothing but unmitigated hardship on the people, while the governing class relishes in affluence,” the party said.
The PDP stated that economic growth figures alone do not translate into improved living standards, noting that Nigerians continue to experience severe hardship under the current administration.
While President Tinubu cited a 3.98 per cent GDP growth rate as evidence of economic stabilisation, the PDP argued that growth without inclusiveness has failed to lift millions out of poverty.
Citing the 2025 World Bank Poverty and Equity Brief, the party said more than 30.9 per cent of Nigerians live below the international extreme poverty line.
“This shows that there is growth without prosperity for our citizens. Despite GDP growth, poverty remains endemic,” the PDP said, adding that any economic gains recorded are not reaching the majority of Nigerians.
The opposition party also faulted the President for failing to identify the sectors driving the reported growth or those benefiting from it.
It compared the 3.98 per cent growth rate to the 6.87 per cent recorded in 2013 under the previous PDP-led administration, which it said was largely driven by non-oil sectors such as agriculture and trade.
President Bola Tinubu on Friday presented the N58.18 trillion 2026 Appropriation Bill to the National Assembly, with debt servicing projected to consume N15.52 trillion.
“The President celebrates a 3.98 per cent growth rate, whereas a reality check reveals excruciating hunger, a high cost of living, and other indices of economic hardship Nigerians are currently facing,” the party said.
On security, the PDP acknowledged allocations in the 2026 budget but warned that funding alone would not resolve Nigeria’s security challenges. It called for transparent and effective utilisation of security funds to deliver modern equipment, adequate ammunition, improved intelligence capabilities, and better welfare for security personnel.
The party noted that security operatives remain deployed across multiple theatres of conflict where criminal non-state actors are alleged to possess superior weapons to those of government forces.
The PDP also raised concerns over what it described as the President’s admission that the execution of the 2024 capital budget had been extended to December 2025, while the 2025 budget remains in force.
According to the party, this confirms long-standing reports of the concurrent operation of multiple budgets—a practice it said undermines fiscal discipline, transparency, and accountability.
“No two budgets should operate concurrently,” the statement said, describing the development as “another unprecedented negative feat” of the APC-led administration.
The PDP called for increased transparency and accountability in public finance management, warning that the absence of these principles erodes public trust and weakens governance.
“Financial accountability and transparency are critical to public trust-building and effective public administration,” the party said.
The 2026 budget proposal will now undergo legislative scrutiny in the coming weeks amid rising concerns over inflation, unemployment, poverty, and insecurity across the country.
Nigeria’s economic growth is forecast to strengthen to 3.6 per cent in 2025, and to average 3.8 per cent in 2026–2027.
