Nigeria’s 2026 budget proposal is ‘building a house on quicksand’ – ADC

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has criticised the 2026 budget proposal presented by President Bola Tinubu to the national assembly, describing it as a “copy and paste budget from previous years”.

On Friday, Tinubu presented a record N58.18 trillion 2026 appropriation bill to a joint sitting of the national assembly.

In a statement issued on Monday, Bolaji Abdullahi, national publicity secretary of the ADC, said the party’s team of economists conducted a preliminary review of the spending plan.

Abdullahi said despite being branded the “Budget of Consolidation, Renewed Resilience and Shared Prosperity”, the proposal represents a continuation of fiscal recklessness and wishful thinking.

“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“Nigeria is being asked to accept a new fiscal framework at a time when the 2025 budget was only recently repealed and reenacted, an unprecedented display of fiscal chaos and administrative incompetence.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 ADC spokesperson warned that the budget would only result in deeper debt and increased hardship for Nigerians if approved as it is.

Abdullahi noted that the proposal mirrors the structure of the 2024 and 2025 budgets, which he described as poorly implemented and largely ineffective.

He said the government is proposing a new fiscal framework shortly after repealing and re-enacting the 2025 budget, describing the development as evidence of fiscal chaos and administrative incompetence.

He accused the Tinubu administration of postponing difficult fiscal decisions while relying on unsustainable borrowing that mortgages the future of the next generation.

Abdullahi said economic recovery cannot be achieved through monetary adjustments alone without fiscal discipline and credible budgeting.

He also criticised what he described as the attempt to operate multiple national budgets simultaneously, calling it unprecedented fiscal disorder.

He said that although revenues rose to about N20 trillion in 2024, the deficit expanded to N23.85 trillion, with most capital projects expected to be financed through high-interest borrowing.

“It is unforgivable to saddle future generations with massive debt to fund opaque and reckless spending today,” Abdullahi said.

He added that debt servicing costs are projected to rise from N12.63 trillion in 2024 to N15.52 trillion in 2026, warning that the trajectory is unsustainable.

The opposition party urged the federal government to adopt a new economic direction anchored on fiscal responsibility, transparency, and policies that prioritise the welfare of Nigerians.