President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Friday presented the 2026 Appropriation Bill to a joint session of the National Assembly, proposing a total expenditure of ₦58.18 trillion, with strong emphasis on security, infrastructure, human capital development and economic resilience.
Presenting the budget titled “Budget of Consolidation, Renewed Resilience and Shared Prosperity,” Tinubu said the proposal marked a defining moment in Nigeria’s reform journey, aimed at consolidating gains recorded over the last two and a half years and transitioning the country from economic survival to sustainable growth.
The President acknowledged that recent reforms had imposed hardships on citizens and businesses but assured Nigerians that the sacrifices were yielding results and would translate into long-term stability and shared prosperity.
According to him, Nigeria’s economy grew by 3.98 per cent in the third quarter of 2025, while inflation moderated for eight consecutive months, dropping to 14.45 per cent in November 2025 from 24.23 per cent in March. He also noted improvements in oil production, non-oil revenue mobilisation and investor confidence, alongside a rise in external reserves to about $47 billion, the highest in seven years.
Tinubu disclosed that the 2026 budget projects total revenue of ₦34.33 trillion against total expenditure of ₦58.18 trillion, including ₦15.52 trillion for debt servicing. Recurrent non-debt expenditure is estimated at ₦15.25 trillion, while capital expenditure is pegged at ₦26.08 trillion. The budget deficit of ₦23.85 trillion represents 4.28 per cent of Gross Domestic Product.
The budget assumptions include a crude oil benchmark of $64.85 per barrel, oil production of 1.84 million barrels per day and an exchange rate of ₦1,400 to the US dollar.
The President said the 2026 fiscal plan would focus on four key objectives: consolidating macroeconomic stability, improving the business environment, promoting job-rich growth and poverty reduction, and strengthening human capital while protecting vulnerable citizens.
Sectoral allocations show ₦5.41 trillion for defence and security, ₦3.56 trillion for infrastructure, ₦3.52 trillion for education and ₦2.48 trillion for health.
Tinubu stressed that security remained the foundation of development, announcing plans to modernise the armed forces, strengthen intelligence-led policing and roll out a new national counterterrorism doctrine. He warned that all armed groups operating outside state authority would be treated as terrorists.
On human capital development, the President said over 788,000 students had benefitted from the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, while healthcare investment accounted for six per cent of the total budget, excluding liabilities. He also disclosed that Nigeria had secured over $500 million in health intervention support through recent engagements with the United States.
In agriculture and infrastructure, Tinubu said the government would prioritise food security, mechanisation, irrigation and agro-value chains, with plans to cultivate one million hectares of farmland and create hundreds of thousands of jobs through the Bank of Agriculture.
The President further highlighted procurement reforms and the Nigeria First Policy, which mandates Ministries, Departments and Agencies to prioritise locally made goods and services to boost domestic industries and job creation.
Tinubu assured lawmakers that 2026 would be a year of stronger fiscal discipline, better revenue mobilisation, efficient spending and improved accountability, stressing that the true value of the budget lay in its delivery.
“I therefore lay before this distinguished Joint Session of the National Assembly the 2026 Appropriation Bill of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and seek your partnership in charting the nation’s fiscal course,” he said.
He expressed confidence that with cooperation between the Executive and Legislature, and the resilience of Nigerians, the Renewed Hope Agenda would deliver a more secure, equitable and prosperous nation.
