PDP: Tinubu’s 2026 budget will renew Nigerians’ suffering

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has criticised President Bola Tinubu’s 2026 budget, describing it as a document that will “renew Nigerians’ suffering”.

On Friday, Tinubu presented N58.18 trillion as the budget estimates for the 2026 fiscal year before the joint session of the national assembly.

In the appropriation bill titled ‘Budget of Consolidation, Renewed Resilience and Shared Prosperity’, Tinubu earmarked N5.41 trillion for defence and security, representing approximately 9.3 percent of total expenditure.

He projected the total revenue of N34.33 trillion, expenditure of N58.18 trillion, recurrent (non-debt) expenditure of N15.25 trillion, and capital expenditure of N26.08 trillion.

In a statement, Ini Ememobong, PDP spokesperson, said the budget failed to reflect the lived realities of Nigerians grappling with economic hardship.

“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 statement reads.

Ememobong rejected Tinubu’s claim that the economy is stabilising, saying Nigerians had experienced “nothing but unmitigated hardship”, while the governing class relishes in affluence.

“Nigerians have suffered greatly from many economic woes under this administration,” Ememobong said.

The opposition party faulted the president’s reliance on a reported 3.98 percent GDP growth rate as evidence of economic progress, arguing that growth figures alone do not translate to improved living standards.

Ememobong said the 2025 World Bank Poverty & Equity Brief shows that “more than 30.9% of Nigerians live below the international extreme poverty line”, noting that it exposes the disconnect between macroeconomic indicators and the everyday experience of citizens.

“This shows that there is growth without prosperity for our citizens, meaning that despite GDP growth, poverty remains endemic,” the statement reads.

The party also criticised the president for failing to explain the drivers of the reported growth or identify those who benefitted from it.

“The president stated that the economy under his watch grew by 3.98% without stating the sectors that stimulated the growth or identifying those who benefited from it,” Ememobong said.

On security, the PDP acknowledged the allocation made in the 2026 budget but warned that funding alone would not address the country’s security challenges.

“We must remind the government and Nigerians that allocation alone is insufficient,” he said.

The spokesperson claimed that “security operatives were engaged across multiple theatres of conflict where criminal non-state actors are alleged to possess superior arms compared to our security forces”.

“We therefore demand effective and transparent execution to ensure that security funding translates into tangible improvements-modern equipment, adequate ammunition, improved intelligence capabilities, and better welfare for security personnel who are currently engaged in different theatres of armed conflict, where criminal non-state actors are alleged to possess superior arms compared to our security forces,” he said.

The PDP further expressed concern over Tinubu’s admission that the execution of the 2024 capital budget had been extended to December 2025, while the 2025 budget was still in operation.

“This confirms the long-standing rumours of the concurrent operation of multiple budgets,” he said, arguing that such a practice undermines fiscal discipline, transparency and accountability.

“This cannot be described as best practice, as every budget has a defined period of operation and no two budgets should operate concurrently,” he said, describing the situation as “yet another unprecedented negative feat by this APC Bola Tinubu-led administration”.

Ememobong called for greater transparency and accountability in the management of public finances, saying these values had been “conspicuously absent so far under this administration”.

“Financial accountability and transparency are critical to public trust-building and effective public administration,” the statement added.