DLA faults FG as National Assembly extends 2025 budget to 2026

File Photo: Nigerian Senate

The Democratic and Leadership Alliance, has expressed concern over the decision by the National Assembly to extend the implementation of the capital component of the 2025 budget to December 31, 2026.

The Senate and House of Representatives approved the extension on Tuesday, giving Ministries, Departments and Agencies additional time to execute capital projects captured in the 2025 Appropriation Act. It is the fourth extension of the budget’s capital implementation period.

Reacting to the development ina statement on Wednesday, the Head of Media and Publicity of the DLA National Campaign Council, Dr Tosin Odeyemi, said the repeated extensions reflected what the party described as a worsening fiscal and economic situation.

Odeyemi said the party was particularly concerned that the 2024 budget had yet to be fully funded, while implementation of the 2026 budget was also facing challenges.

“We are more concerned that this is the fourth time the implementation of this same budget has been extended and with the latest one, it shows that the Bola Tinubu-led administration has continued to fail Nigerians in even the most basic metric of governance,” he said.

He added that the latest extension could further complicate budget implementation and lead to the rollover of outstanding capital expenditure.

“The looming fiscal and economic crisis this administration is inviting shows that over N35tn, which is the capital component of 2026 budget, will be moved to the 2027, thereby continuing this shambolic process of running minimum of two budgets at a time,” Odeyemi said.

The DLA spokesman called on Nigerians to demand greater accountability from the Federal Government over its management of public funds.

“We hereby call on Nigerians to join us in asking the Tinubu administration to account for the humongous funds it received in 2025 if it couldn’t fund the budget,” he said.

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Odeyemi also criticised President Bola Tinubu over his repeated calls for Nigerians to hold state governors accountable for increased allocations following the removal of fuel subsidy.

“President Bola Tinubu has at every slight opportunity asked Nigerians to hold Governors of states accountable over huge amount accrued to them from the subsidy removal but he has not at any point told us what he does with larger percentage of the nation’s resources and debilitating loans he took to warrant budgets implementations suffering unprecedented extensions under his leadership,” he said.

He further alleged that the administration lacked adequate understanding of fiscal management and questioned its capacity to govern the country.

“President Tinubu has continued to show that he lacks basic fiscal knowledge of the nation’s economy and he’s unfit to govern this country,” Odeyemi said.

The DLA spokesman also urged Nigerians to vote against Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election, saying, “His continuous stay in office beyond May 2027 will push this country closer to the ruins and all of us must collectively reject such by voting him out at the polls in January.”

He said the party had presented what it described as an alternative programme to Nigerians.

“We have presented a better alternative to Nigerians and we believe only DLA will restore the dignity of this country and revive the ailing economic and fiscal processes,” he added.

The National Assembly’s latest decision followed concerns over delays in implementing capital projects under the 2025 budget. The extension moves the deadline from September 30 to December 31, 2026.