Politics

ADC Accuses Tinubu of Prioritising 2027 Re-election Over Governance

BySodiq Yusuf

PublishedMarch 5, 2026

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has accused President Bola Tinubu of putting his 2027 re-election ahead of governance, citing widespread budget failures, policy reversals, and escalating insecurity under his administration.

The opposition party said the federal government is running three national budgets simultaneously but struggling to implement any, calling the situation unprecedented and deeply troubling.

According to ADC National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, key sectors such as power, communications, education, and health remain underfunded, even as the government reports record revenue and rising foreign reserves.

“The ADC has noted reports that point to utter confusion and historic incompetence in the Tinubu administration’s budget implementation since 2024. This is the first time in Nigeria’s history that a government would run three budgets at once while implementing none,” Abdullahi said in a statement in Abuja.

He added that while the 2024 budget rolled over into 2025, only 17.7 per cent of the capital component had been released by the third quarter of 2025, with overall implementation below 30 per cent.

The government claims this is a “deliberate strategy” and a “transition cost” to complete multi-year projects, but the ADC dismissed it as a “blatant falsehood.”

The party said 30 per cent of the 2025 budget is set to run from February to November 2026, while the remaining 70 per cent would roll into the 2026 budget, which is still being debated three months into the year.

President Tinubu had earlier promised all capital components of the 2024 and 2025 budgets would be concluded by March 31, 2026.

Sectoral budget implementation, according to the ADC, stands at 3.6 per cent for Power, 8.9 per cent for Communications Technology, 23.5 per cent for Education, and 32.5 per cent for Health.

The only ministry exceeding its budget, at 113.45 per cent, was Defence, largely due to emergency funding, yet insecurity continues to rise.

“Recent reports indicate that in this month of Ramadan alone, up to 500 Nigerians may have been killed by terrorists in Borno, Yobe, Adamawa, and Kebbi,” the party said.

ADC also questioned claims of historic revenue collection and improved foreign reserves, alleging the government is borrowing aggressively while contractors remain unpaid and projects stalled.

“This is why Nigerians are suffering like never before. What is this government doing with all the money from loans, revenue, and taxes? Why are we worse off than three years ago?” the party asked.

“The Tinubu government has shown that everything is about politics and power for its own sake,” Abdullahi concluded, noting that poverty and insecurity continue to deepen across the country.

Sodiq Yusuf

Sodiq Yusuf is a trained media practitioner and journalist with considerable years of experience in print, broadcast, and digital journalism. His interests cover a wide range of causes in politics, governance, sports, community development, and good governance.