President Bola Tinubu on Friday presented a ₦58.18 trillion 2026 Appropriation Bill to a joint session of the National Assembly (NASS), describing the proposal as the “Budget of Consolidation, Renewed Resilience and Shared Prosperity.”
Tinubu said the 2026 budget represents the outcome of two and a half years of what he described as “painful but necessary” economic reforms designed to restore macroeconomic stability, stimulate job-rich growth and promote inclusive prosperity.
According to the president, the budget projects total revenue of ₦34.33 trillion against total expenditure of ₦58.18 trillion, including ₦15.52 trillion earmarked for debt servicing. Recurrent non-debt expenditure is estimated at ₦15.25 trillion, while capital expenditure stands at ₦26.08 trillion. The fiscal deficit of ₦23.85 trillion represents 4.28 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Tinubu said the budget is anchored on four strategic pillars: consolidating macroeconomic stability; improving the business and investment climate; promoting job-rich growth and poverty reduction; and strengthening human capital while protecting vulnerable groups.
He disclosed that key sectoral allocations include ₦5.41 trillion for Defence and Security, ₦3.56 trillion for Infrastructure, ₦3.52 trillion for Education, and ₦2.48 trillion for Health.
Emphasising that security remains the foundation of national development, the president said the defence and security allocation would be deployed to modernise the armed forces, strengthen intelligence-led policing and secure Nigeria’s borders.
On education and health, Tinubu said the Nigerian Education Loan Fund has so far supported more than 418,000 students across 229 tertiary institutions nationwide, while health spending accounts for six per cent of the total budget net of liabilities.
The president pointed to what he described as early signs of economic stabilisation, noting that GDP growth rose to 3.98 per cent in the third quarter of 2025 from 3.86 per cent in the corresponding period of 2024. He added that inflation declined to 14.45 per cent in November from 24.23 per cent in March, while external reserves climbed to a seven-year high of about $47 billion.
To consolidate these gains, Tinubu said the 2026 budget is based on a crude oil benchmark price of $64.85 per barrel, daily oil production of 1.84 million barrels, and an exchange rate of ₦1,400 to the US dollar.
He stressed the need for strict discipline in budget implementation, directing ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) to adhere to approved timelines and adopt end-to-end digitisation of revenue mobilisation to curb leakages.
The president also called for improved revenue generation through the implementation of new National Tax Acts, reforms in the oil and gas sector, and stricter performance benchmarks for government-owned enterprises.
Tinubu further disclosed that the budget introduces a new national counter-terrorism doctrine that reclassifies bandits, militias, armed gangs and other non-state armed groups as terrorists.
“The doctrine mandates unified command, intelligence sharing and community-based peacebuilding to combat violence that threatens national survival,” he said.
He urged closer collaboration between the executive and the legislature to fully deliver on his administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda, stressing that the 2026 budget is “not merely a list of numbers, but a statement of national priorities and collective resolve.”
