President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Friday presented the 2026 Appropriation Bill to a joint sitting of the National Assembly, describing it as a “Budget of Consolidation, Renewed Resilience and Shared Prosperity.”
While the President insisted that the economy is stabilising, the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has sharply disagreed, branding the proposal a budget that deepens hardship for ordinary Nigerians.
In a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Comrade Ini Ememobong, the PDP said Nigerians have experienced “nothing but unmitigated hardship” since the inception of the Tinubu administration, arguing that the promises of shared prosperity have failed to reflect the daily realities of citizens.
President Tinubu cited a 3.98 per cent Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate as proof that his economic policies are yielding results. However, the PDP countered that growth figures alone do not translate into improved living standards.
According to the party, data from the 2025 World Bank Poverty & Equity Brief shows that more than 30.9 per cent of Nigerians live below the international extreme poverty line, a situation it described as “growth without prosperity.”
“This clearly indicates that whatever economic gains exist are not reaching the majority of Nigerians,” the statement said, noting that the President did not specify the sectors driving the reported growth or identify those benefitting from it.
The PDP further compared the current growth rate with the 6.87 per cent recorded in 2013 under the previous administration, which it said was largely driven by non-oil sectors such as agriculture and trade. It argued that celebrating a 3.98 per cent growth rate in the face of widespread hunger, soaring cost of living, and declining purchasing power amounts to a disconnect from reality.
On security, the opposition acknowledged the allocation made in the 2026 budget but warned that funding alone would not resolve the country’s security challenges. It called for transparent and effective implementation to ensure that allocations translate into “modern equipment, adequate ammunition, improved intelligence capabilities, and better welfare for security personnel.”
The PDP also expressed serious concern over President Tinubu’s admission that the implementation of the 2024 capital budget had been extended to December 2025, even as the 2025 budget remains in operation.
According to the party, the concurrent operation of multiple budgets undermines fiscal discipline, transparency, and accountability. “No two budgets should operate concurrently,” the statement stressed, describing the situation as another troubling precedent under the current administration.
The party concluded by calling for greater transparency and accountability in the management of public finances, insisting that these principles are essential for rebuilding public trust and ensuring effective governance.