DLA Condemns FG, NASS as 2025 Budget Capital Implementation Stretches to 2026

The Democratic and Leadership Alliance (DLA) has voiced deep concern regarding the National Assembly's recent decision to prolong the execution period for the capital expenditure component of the 2025 budget until December 31, 2026. Both the Senate and the House of Representatives endorsed this extension on Tuesday, granting Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) additional time to complete capital projects outlined in the 2025 Appropriation Act. This marks the fourth occasion that the implementation timeline for the capital aspect of this specific budget has been extended.

In a statement released on Wednesday, Dr. Tosin Odeyemi, the Head of Media and Publicity for the DLA National Campaign Council, commented on the development. He asserted that these recurrent extensions are indicative of what the party perceives as a deteriorating fiscal and economic climate in the country. Odeyemi highlighted the party's particular apprehension that the 2024 budget remains unfunded in its entirety, while the 2026 budget's implementation is also facing significant hurdles.

"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," Odeyemi stated.

He further elaborated that this latest extension could exacerbate complications in budget execution and potentially lead to the carry-over of unspent capital funds. "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 warned.

The DLA spokesman urged Nigerian citizens to demand greater accountability from the Federal Government regarding its management of public finances. "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 appealed.

Odeyemi also directed criticism at President Bola Tinubu for his consistent appeals to Nigerians to hold state governors responsible for the increased financial allocations they received following the removal of fuel subsidies. "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 remarked.

He went on to allege that the current administration demonstrates a fundamental lack of understanding in fiscal management, questioning its overall competence to govern the nation. "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 declared.

The DLA representative additionally implored Nigerians to vote against President Tinubu in the upcoming 2027 presidential election. He cautioned, "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." Odeyemi affirmed that his party had presented a viable alternative agenda to the Nigerian populace. "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 concluded.

The National Assembly's recent decision was prompted by ongoing concerns about delays in the execution of capital projects under the 2025 budget. The extension shifts the completion deadline from September 30 to December 31, 2026.