Kehinde Fajobi
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has rejected the ₦47.9 trillion 2025 federal budget estimates presented by President Bola Tinubu to the National Assembly, labelling it “anti-people.”
The opposition party warned that the budget’s implementation would exacerbate insecurity, poverty, and hopelessness in Nigeria.
In a statement released in Abuja, PDP’s National Publicity Secretary, Hon. Debo Ologunagba, criticised the budget, calling it a reflection of the Tinubu-led All Progressives Congress (APC) government’s insensitivity to the challenges facing Nigerians.
Ologunagba noted that the budget lacked sufficient provisions for critical sectors like agriculture, food production, electricity, petroleum, gas, and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), which are vital to the nation’s economy.
“The budget address reads more like a campaign speech, full of unverified economic statistics, empty promises, and exaggerated claims about past performance,” Ologunagba said.
He pointed out the absence of concrete measures to tackle the country’s insecurity, revive the economy, support industries, increase food production, stabilize the Naira, and address job creation for youth.
The PDP also expressed disappointment that the 2025 budget failed to include strategic provisions to reduce fuel prices, electricity tariffs, and the cost of essential goods and services, all of which continue to burden citizens.
“President Tinubu dashed the hopes of millions of suffering Nigerians who expected him to use the budget to bring relief,” Ologunagba added.
The party rejected the President’s claim of an 85% performance rate in the 2024 budget, calling it “bogus” due to a lack of transparency regarding recurrent and capital expenditure.
It also challenged the assertion that the economy had improved under Tinubu’s leadership, citing worsening poverty, crumbling infrastructure, soaring inflation at 34.6%, and high unemployment at 40%.
The PDP expressed skepticism about the projected reductions in inflation and the Naira’s value in 2025, calling the goals unrealistic.
They pointed out that such targets were announced without clear investments in the productive sector, all while Nigeria’s debt under the APC administration has ballooned to ₦134.3 trillion.
The opposition party also raised concerns about the lack of transparency in the budget’s breakdown, especially regarding capital and recurrent spending. It warned that the proposed budget, which includes ₦15.8 trillion for debt servicing and a ₦13 trillion deficit, would be financed by increased taxes on already struggling citizens and businesses.
This, they argued, would further cripple the economy, discourage investment, and worsen inflation and unemployment.
The PDP called on the National Assembly to reject the 2025 budget and exercise its constitutional powers to revise it, ensuring provisions that would foster economic growth and improve the welfare of Nigerians.