Atiku Abubakar, former Vice President and Presidential Candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), has criticised President Bola Tinubu’s handling of the federal budget, questioning the government’s decision to extend the implementation of the 2025 budget into 2026 while simultaneously operating a 2026 budget.
Atiku spoke on Thursday at the ADC national headquarters in Abuja in his Independence Day address, where he also challenged Tinubu to account for promises on lower transport fares and other relief measures.
He said the overlapping budget arrangements had weakened transparency and made it difficult for Nigerians to determine what government had funded, completed or left outstanding.
‘You have just signed an extension keeping the 2025 budget in operation until the last day of 2026. The 2026 budget exists alongside it. Soon, your government will ask Nigerians to examine a 2027 budget,’ Atiku said.
‘How many budgets must be open at once before you can tell the country what was funded, what was completed and what remains unpaid? A budget should be a timetable for delivery, not a ball passed from one year to the next,’ he added.
Tinubu’s administration initially operated the 2025 budget before its implementation was extended into 2026, while the 2026 Appropriation Act is also in force.
The arrangement has generated questions about the timing and sequencing of budget implementation as the government prepares for the 2027 fiscal year.
On the President’s promise of cheaper transport fares, Atiku questioned whether Nigerians were seeing the relief announced by the government.
‘Bola, was this a Yahoo Yahoo promise or a hurried reply to my production subsidy proposal?’ he asked.
‘You advertised cheaper transport from October 1. Today is October 1, and commuters are still asking where they can find the lower fares. Show them the routes and the prices. Nigerians cannot board an announcement,’ he said.
Atiku also challenged the government to publish the routes covered, existing fares and the number of beneficiaries, saying Nigerians should be able to verify the promised relief.
He further accused the administration of relying excessively on future promises while households continue to face high living costs.
‘Your speech is full of ‘we will’,’ Atiku said. He added that Nigerians had waited more than three years for many of the promised improvements.
He said government accountability should be measured by what Nigerians can actually afford, rather than by announcements and economic statistics.