President Bola Tinubu on Friday laid before a joint session of the National Assembly the 2026 Appropriation Bill totalling N58.18 trillion, signalling a determined push to consolidate economic gains, strengthen national security and deliver tangible prosperity to Nigerians.
Tagged the “Budget of Consolidation, Renewed Resilience and Shared Prosperity”, the proposal aims to build on recent macroeconomic stability while addressing lingering challenges through targeted investments in security, infrastructure, education and health.
Addressing lawmakers in Abuja, Tinubu acknowledged the hardships triggered by reforms since May 2023 but insisted that early signs of recovery were now evident. He highlighted a 3.98 per cent GDP growth in the third quarter of 2025, inflation moderating for eight straight months to 14.45 per cent in November, rising oil output, robust non-oil revenues and external reserves reaching a seven-year peak of approximately $47 billion sufficient for over 10 months of import cover.
“These outcomes are not accidental. They reflect difficult but deliberate policy choices,” the President stated, emphasising the need to transform stability into widespread prosperity.
The fiscal framework projects total revenue of N34.33 trillion against expenditure of N58.18 trillion, resulting in a deficit of N23.85 trillion or 4.28 per cent of GDP. Debt servicing is allocated N15.52 trillion, recurrent (non-debt) spending N15.25 trillion, and capital expenditure a substantial N26.08 trillion.
Key assumptions include an oil price benchmark of $64.85 per barrel, daily production of 1.84 million barrels and an exchange rate of N1,400 to the dollar.
Security dominates sectoral allocations with N5.41 trillion, followed by infrastructure at N3.56 trillion, education at N3.52 trillion and health at N2.48 trillion.
In a significant policy shift, Tinubu announced a tougher security doctrine, declaring that any armed group operating outside state authority — including bandits, kidnappers, militias, violent cultists and foreign-linked mercenaries — will henceforth be classified as terrorists. He extended the designation to their financiers, ransom negotiators, arms suppliers and any political, community or religious figures providing support.
This unified counter-terrorism approach, the President said, marks a comprehensive reset of Nigeria’s security architecture aimed at restoring lasting peace.
On fiscal discipline, Tinubu admitted implementation challenges in the 2025 budget, with only 61 per cent of revenue and 60 per cent of expenditure targets met by the third quarter, and capital releases lagging at 17.7 per cent. He directed strict adherence to approved details and timelines in 2026, while mandating government-owned enterprises to meet revenue targets through full digitisation to eliminate leakages.
Human capital development remains a priority. Over 418,000 students have already accessed loans through the Nigerian Education Loan Fund across 229 institutions. Health allocation, excluding certain liabilities, accounts for six per cent of the budget, supplemented by prospective U.S. grants exceeding $500 million.
Agriculture will receive focused support through mechanisation, irrigation, climate-resilient practices and improved storage to reduce post-harvest losses and raise smallholder incomes.
Concluding his address, Tinubu described the budget as a collective endeavour under the Renewed Hope Agenda, expressing optimism that executive-legislative collaboration would ensure effective delivery.
