The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has criticized President Bola Tinubu’s proposed 2026 budget, describing it as a perilous debt trap that could compromise Nigeria’s future and worsen the country’s fiscal challenges.

In a statement, the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, said the proposal highlights increasing fiscal recklessness, administrative disorder, and a troubling disregard for the welfare of future generations. Abdullahi dismissed the government’s characterization of the plan as a “Budget of Consolidation, Renewed Resilience and Shared Prosperity,” arguing that it merely continues the failed fiscal practices of the current administration.

“What was presented is only a continuation of the fiscal mismanagement and wishful thinking that have marked the Tinubu administration,” he said. “If approved, this budget will share nothing but growing debt and heightened economic hardship in the years to come. The 2026 proposal essentially replicates the failed and likely unimplementable budgets of 2024 and 2025.”

The ADC also questioned the budget’s revenue projections, calling them unrealistic. It noted that while revenues rose to around N20 trillion in 2024—largely due to currency devaluation—the figure was projected to double to N40 trillion in 2025 and climb further to N58.57 trillion in the 2026 plan.

The party also criticized the $64-per-barrel oil benchmark, warning that weakening oil output and declining global prices make the assumptions risky and detached from reality. Abdullahi added that the N34 trillion revenue target ignores alternative scenarios and relies on conditions that no longer exist.