APM Critiques NASS for 2025 Budget Extension Impact

The Allied Peoples Movement (APM) has condemned the National Assembly for extending the implementation period of the 2025 capital budget, asserting that this practice encourages budget padding and undermines effective budget execution. Abubakar Yusuf, the party’s National Publicity Secretary, stated that this extension reflects the ongoing distortion of Nigeria's budget cycle under President Bola Tinubu's administration.

He noted that since Tinubu took office, the annual budget has been significantly altered, leading to overlaps and poor performance from 2023 to the present. Yusuf expressed concern over the non-payment of contractors, some of whom have been owed since 2024, and criticized the slow pace of the 2026 budget's implementation, which had not commenced by the last quarter of 2026.

He claimed that capital expenditure has suffered for three years while recurrent expenditure has only partially been implemented. Yusuf also alleged that local contractors are being forced out of business due to the government's failure to honor contractual obligations.