APM Blasts NASS Over Extension Of 2025 Capital Budget, Says It Encourages Padding

The Allied Peoples Movement (APM) has criticised the National Assembly over the extension of the implementation period for the 2025 capital budget, saying the practice encourages budget padding and undermines effective budget implementation.

The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Abubakar Yusuf, said the extension was another indication of what he described as the continued distortion of Nigeria’s budget cycle under the administration of President Bola Tinubu.

“What do you expect? Since the inception of the Tinubu administration in the last three and a half years, the annual budget of the country has been completely altered. This is far away from the fear envisaged by the previous administration that reverted budget performance from January to December,” Yusuf said.

He said Nigeria’s budget had continued to overlap since the beginning of the present administration, which, according to him, had contributed to poor budget performance from 2023 to date.

“Since the inception of this administration, Nigeria’s budget has continued to overlap. This has led to non-performance from 2023 till now. The negative development has encouraged budget padding from the National Assembly to the Executive arm of government.”

Yusuf also expressed concern over the alleged non-payment of contractors, saying some local contractors had been owed for years.

“Contractors are being owed for years since 2024 without payment. The 2024/2025 budget operated at 30 per cent,” he said.

He further criticised the pace of implementation of the 2026 budget, alleging that its implementation had yet to commence as of the last quarter of the year.

“You won’t believe, in the last quarter of 2026, the year’s budget has not commenced implementation. What kind of country are we?”

According to him, capital expenditure had suffered for the past three years, while recurrent expenditure had been partially implemented, with salaries being paid to some selected agencies.

“Capital budget has suffered for the past three years, while recurrent expenditure are partially implemented with only payment of salaries to some selected agencies. This is absurd.”

The APM spokesman also alleged that local contractors were being forced out of business because of the failure of government agencies to honour contractual obligations.

“We are in a country where local contractors are dying on a daily basis over lack of fulfilment of contractual obligations at the expense of selected foreign/local ones who are surrogates of the present administration or people in government.”

Yusuf further alleged that government funds were being released selectively and subsequently recycled as what he described as “slush funds.”

“They only release funds that are being recycled back to them as slush funds. Imagine that.”

He urged the National Assembly and the Federal Government to address the persistent overlap in budget implementation and ensure that capital projects received timely funding to improve budget performance and protect local contractors.