Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has sharply criticized the N49 trillion 2025 budget estimates presented to the National Assembly last week by President Bola Tinubu, describing it as a flawed blueprint incapable of fostering sustainable economic growth and addressing Nigeria's pressing challenges. This scathing critique, delivered on Sunday, characterizes the budget as merely continuing "business-as-usual fiscal practices," insufficient for meaningful change.
With the budget projecting revenue forecasted at N35 trillion alongside predictions of over N13 trillion deficit, which amounts to approximately 4% of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), concerns are mounting. To cover the shortfall, the government plans to borrow more than N13 trillion, which breaks down to N9 trillion from direct loans and N4 trillion from project-specific loans. Atiku has vehemently criticized this borrowing strategy, asserting it perpetuates the unsustainable trends seen under previous administrations, contributing to soaring public debt and increasing interest payments, along with vulnerabilities to foreign exchange fluctuations.
Atiku outlined several fundamental flaws related to the budget, questioning its capability to inspire substantial change. He pointed to weak budgetary foundations, citing poor execution of the 2024 budget as foreboding for the upcoming fiscal plan. By the third quarter of 2024, less than 35% of allocated capital expenditures for Government Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDGs) had been disbursed, starkly contradicting the claims of 85% budget execution.
"This underperformance in capital spending undermines the government’s ability to deliver transformative projects," Atiku stated, casting doubt on the administration's prospects for achieving its 2025 targets. He raised alarm over the alarming allocation for debt servicing, projected at N15.8 trillion, which accounts for 33% of total expenditure—nearly matching the N16 trillion designated for capital projects. Such resources, Atiku warns, indicates misallocation, as this excessive debt service overshadows funding for fundamental sectors: defense (N4.91 trillion), infrastructure (N4.06 trillion), education (N3.52 trillion), and health (N2.4 trillion).
He underscored how recurrent expenditure for 2025 would surpass N14 trillion amounting to 30% of the budget, labeling this figure as unsustainable and indicative of inefficiencies within the government. He criticized excessive spending on what he described as "oversized bureaucracy" and ineffective public enterprises, leaving insufficient funds for developmental investments. "Without addressing inefficiencies and reducing waste, the government is undermining fiscal stability," he warned.
Further, the allocation for capital spending, between 25% to 34% of the total budget, is inadequate to tackle Nigeria’s significant infrastructure deficit. Atiku emphasized the gravity of the situation with the average per capita capital allocation falling approximately to N80,000 (equivalent to $45), arguing the budget fundamentally lacks the transformative potential needed to spur growth and confront Nigeria's infrastructural and economic issues.
Adding to the fiscal troubles, Atiku condemned the administration’s decision to increase the Value Added Tax (VAT) rate from 7.5% to 10%, calling it “retrogressive.” He argued this move would exacerbate the cost-of-living crisis by imposing additional financial burdens on vulnerable Nigerians. Without addressing systemic inefficiencies, he believes excessive taxation will stifle domestic consumption, dampening economic activity.
Atiku, the presidential candidate for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) during the 2023 election, asserted the 2025 budget fails to deliver the structural reforms or fiscal discipline needed to resolve Nigeria’s multifaceted challenges. He emphasized the necessity for the government to pivot away from unsustainable borrowing approaches and excessive recurrent expenditure, advocating instead for growth-oriented fiscal policies concentrated on education, infrastructure, and health.
"The government must prioritize reducing inefficiencies, tackling contract inflation, and pursuing long-term fiscal sustainability," he declared, urging the administration to adopt disciplined budgeting practices. He stressed the need for policies driving economic transformation rather than relapsing to a debt-ridden stagnation. "Nigeria needs a credible budget reflecting the realities of our challenges and offering solutions rooted in efficiency, accountability, and growth," said Atiku.
Adding to the discussions surrounding the 2025 budget, AGHAM, a collective of scientists, raised alarm over significant cuts to the Dynaslope project aimed at establishing early warning systems for landslides—an initiative deemed critically necessary as the country faces increasing climate-related challenges. The project saw its funding slashed from P41.1 million to P25.5 million for the coming fiscal year, prompting AGHAM to declare this reduction as "a step in the wrong direction," jeopardizing efforts to reinforce disaster resilience.
They argued, "Cutting its budget now — when typhoons are becoming stronger and more frequent — risks lives and erases hard-won progress." If these cuts proceed, they estimate up to 19 employees involved with the Dynaslope project could face job losses, impacting experts dedicated to disaster risk management—individuals who have invested years developing their skills.
AGHAM warned such measures waste invaluable government resources and threaten lives within vulnerable communities. Dynaslope has been instrumental since 2008, implementing community-based early warning systems across 52 landslide-prone sites. Staff, scientists, engineers, and community outreach professionals from this project publicly expressed their fears over the budget cut's long-term ramifications for their monitoring systems and community support frameworks.
The staff noted, "This loss threatens to severely undermine our 24/7 landslide monitoring operations, downscale cutting-edge landslide research, and reduce capacity-building initiatives." The initiative has been lauded as innovative, illustrating the importance of community collaboration for hazard management.
Responding to climate unpredictability, President Marcos had previously encouraged innovation, stating, "we can continue our work and expand our services to more environmentally fragile communities." Workers from Dynaslope reiterated the necessity for adequate funding to carry their life-saving efforts forward, warning, “Without sufficient funding, life-saving efforts will be stalled, leaving more at risk.”
