By Ayomide Otitoju
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has criticised President Bola Tinubu’s 2026 budget proposal, describing it as a “Budget of Consolidated Renewed Sufferings.”
President Tinubu on Friday presented a ₦58.18 trillion 2026 Appropriation Bill to the National Assembly, projecting cautious economic improvement and pledging stricter fiscal discipline.
However, the opposition party said the proposal fails to address pervasive poverty, rising living costs and growing insecurity across the country. In a statement issued on Friday by its spokesman, Ini Ememobong, the PDP argued that the budget does not reflect the economic realities facing most Nigerians.
“We see it rather as a budget of consolidated renewed sufferings, because what Nigerians have witnessed since the birth of this administration is nothing but unmitigated hardship on the people, while the governing class relishes in affluence,” Ememobong said.
The PDP also faulted the President’s claim of economic stabilisation, citing his reference to a 3.98 per cent Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate. According to the party, the figure does not translate into improved living standards for citizens.
Ememobong referenced the 2025 World Bank Poverty and Equity Brief, which indicates that more than 30.9 per cent of Nigerians live below the international extreme poverty line, arguing that the data shows “growth without prosperity.”
“This clearly indicates that whatever economic gains exist are not reaching the majority of Nigerians,” he said.
The party further criticised the President for failing to specify the sectors driving the reported growth or identify those benefiting from it. It compared the figure with the 6.87 per cent growth rate recorded in 2013 under the last PDP administration, which it said was driven largely by non-oil sectors such as agriculture and trade.
On security, Ememobong called for greater transparency and efficiency in the use of security funds, urging the government to prioritise modern equipment, adequate ammunition, improved intelligence and better welfare for security personnel confronting well-armed criminal groups.
