The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has described the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the most incompetent government in Nigerian history, citing fiscal confusion, poor budget implementation and repeated policy reversals.
In a statement issued on Thursday by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, the opposition party accused the federal government of running multiple national budgets simultaneously without effectively implementing any.
“This is the first time in Nigerian history that any government would be running three budgets at the same time while implementing none,” Abdullahi said.
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According to the ADC, while the 2024 budget was rolled over into 2025, capital releases as of the third quarter of 2025 stood at 17.7 percent, with overall implementation below 30 percent.
The party rejected the government’s explanation that the staggered implementation was a deliberate strategy to complete multi-year capital projects.
“This is a blatant falsehood that cannot hold up to any scrutiny,” Abdullahi said.
The statement further claimed that about 30 percent of the 2025 budget is projected to run from February 2026 to November 30, 2026, while the remaining 70 percent would be rolled over into the 2026 budget, which is still before the National Assembly.
The ADC also referenced a previous pledge by the president that capital components of the 2024 and 2025 budgets would be concluded by March 31, 2026.
“Knowing quite well that this is not possible,” the party said, the promise underscores what it described as utter confusion and a historic level of incompetence in budget management.
Sectoral allocations
The party expressed concern over capital budget implementation in key sectors. It said implementation for the Ministry of Power stood at 3.6 percent, Communications Technology at 8.9 percent, Education at 23.5 percent, and Health at 32.5 percent.
“Certainly, no serious government would leave these sectors, which are crucial to national human capital development, largely unfunded while select government officials continue to live in obscene opulence in the midst of unprecedented poverty and human misery,” Abdullahi stated.
The party noted that the Ministry of Defence reportedly exceeded its budget performance at 113.45 percent, attributing this to emergency funding through the Service-Wide Vote. It, however, argued that insecurity had continued to worsen despite the increased spending.
The party alleged that in this month of Ramadan alone, up to 500 Nigerians may have been killed by terrorists in Borno, Yobe, Adamawa and Kebbi.”
Borrowing, revenue claims
The ADC also faulted the administration’s claims of record revenue generation and improved foreign reserves, alleging that the government had borrowed more aggressively than any previous administration while failing to implement budgets fully.
“Nigerians are suffering like never before and asking the most important questions: what is this government doing with all the money that accrues from all the loans, all the revenues, and all the increased taxes?” Abdullahi said.
The party further alleged that since assuming office, the administration had reversed at least seven appointments and several policy decisions following public backlash.
“This is what happens when a government is distracted,” the statement added.
The ADC concluded that the government was more focused on politics and re-election than governance, accusing it of “gloating” over electoral victories while citizens grapple with poverty and insecurity.
