Democratic and Leadership Alliance (DLA) has criticised the Federal Government over the National Assembly’s decision to extend the implementation of the capital component of the 2025 Appropriation Act to December 31, 2026.

The party described the extension as evidence of the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s failure to implement the national budget within the approved fiscal timeframe.

The National Assembly on Tuesday extended the implementation deadline from September 30 to December 31, 2026, following an executive request for additional time to complete outstanding capital projects and utilise funds already appropriated and released.

The extension is the fourth adjustment to the implementation period of the 2025 capital budget.

The original deadline of December 31, 2025, was first moved to March 31, 2026, then to June 30 and subsequently to September 30.

The lawmakers said the additional period was necessary to prevent the expiration of the implementation window from affecting projects already captured in the 2025 budget.

Reacting to the development, however, the DLA, in a statement yesterday signed by the Head, Media and Publicity for its National Campaign Council, Dr Tosin Odeyemi, said the repeated extension represented a failure of fiscal planning and budget implementation under the Tinubu administration.

The party argued that the decision undermined the principle of yearly budgeting and raised questions about the government’s ability to execute appropriated projects within approved timelines.

The party said it was concerned that the 2024 budget had not been fully funded as of today, while little has been done on the 2026 budget.