The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has expressed strong disapproval of the N47.9 trillion 2025 federal budget presented by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to the National Assembly, describing it as anti-people and lacking in vision.
In a press statement issued on December 18, 2024, and signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Hon. Debo Ologunagba, the PDP accused the Tinubu-led administration of insensitivity towards the plight of Nigerians. The opposition party asserted that the proposed budget, if implemented, would exacerbate the country’s struggles with insecurity, poverty, and economic hardship.
The PDP criticized the budget for its perceived failure to prioritize investments in critical sectors such as agriculture, food production, electricity, petroleum, and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). These sectors, the party argued, are the backbone of Nigeria’s economy and essential to alleviating the nation’s economic challenges.
According to the PDP, President Tinubu’s budget presentation was laced with campaign-like rhetoric and unsubstantiated claims, failing to provide tangible steps to tackle pressing issues such as inflation, unemployment, and the depreciating value of the Naira. The party further accused the administration of neglecting the needs of Nigerians, particularly in reducing the costs of essential goods and services like fuel, food, and electricity.
The PDP also questioned Tinubu’s claim of 85% performance in the 2024 budget, alleging a lack of transparency in the breakdown between recurrent and capital expenditures. The opposition party dismissed the president’s projections of reducing inflation from 34.6% to 15% and improving the Naira’s value from N1,700 to N1,500 per dollar as unrealistic, citing the absence of meaningful investments in productive sectors.
Highlighting the country’s growing debt burden, which stands at N134.3 trillion, the PDP raised concerns over the budget’s N13 trillion deficit, suggesting it would be funded through excessive taxes on already struggling citizens and businesses. The party warned that this approach would stifle economic growth, worsen unemployment, and push millions deeper into poverty.
In its statement, the PDP called on the National Assembly to reject the budget in its current form. It urged lawmakers to exercise their constitutional powers to rework the provisions and include measures that address Nigeria’s economic and social challenges.
The PDP concluded by emphasizing that the proposed 2025 budget could further cripple the nation’s productive sector, discourage investment, and heighten insecurity, urging the government to prioritize the welfare of Nigerians over rhetoric.
https://x.com/OfficialPDPNig/status/1869444948208349363?t=A_So6AIMk9dm4E2Q1XuGxA&s=19
