The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has faulted the 2025 budget proposal presented by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, describing it as “unrealistic, opaque, and insincere.”
PDP National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, in a statement on Wednesday said the budget was anti-people, warning that its implementation would worsen insecurity, poverty, and despair across the nation.
Tinubu unveiled the N49.7 trillion 2025 budget proposal during a joint session of the National Assembly, allocating N4.91 trillion for defence and security, N4.06 trillion for infrastructure, N2.48 trillion for health, and N3.52 trillion for education.
But the opposition party criticised the budget presentation, alleging it was riddled with unverified economic figures and empty campaign promises.
“The N47.9 trillion 2025 federal budget is an anti-people proposal that, if implemented, will plunge the nation deeper into insecurity, poverty, and hopelessness,” the statement read.
PDP accused the Tinubu-led administration of failing to make meaningful investments in critical sectors such as agriculture, electricity, petroleum, and small and medium-scale enterprises.
It alleged the budget’s lack of clarity, particularly on capital and recurrent expenditure details and expressed dismay over the President’s claim of an 85% performance rate for the 2024 budget without a breakdown between capital and recurrent expenditures.
“The budget address was more of campaign rhetoric, filled with unsubstantiated economic statistics, false promises, and conjured performance claims. It lacked clear strategies to address insecurity, revive the economy, create jobs, and reduce the cost of living,” the statement continued.
The PDP also described as “ludicrous” Tinubu’s assertion that the 2025 budget would reduce inflation from 34.6% to 15% and improve the Naira’s exchange rate from N1,700 to N1,500 per dollar.
The PDP urged the National Assembly to reject the 2025 budget in its current form, invoking its constitutional powers to restructure the proposal to prioritise economic growth and citizens’ welfare.
“With a staggering N134.3 trillion debt and no tangible investment in the productive sector, these projections are nothing more than voodoo economics,” the PDP said.
“The National Assembly must ensure that the budget reflects the real needs of Nigerians by making provisions that are critical and pivotal to economic recovery and social stability,” the statement stated.