Tinubu presents ₦58.18trn 2026 budget, vows tougher security, economic reforms

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Friday presented a ₦58.18 trillion 2026 Appropriation Bill to a joint session of the National Assembly, outlining plans for intensified security measures, stricter fiscal discipline, and far-reaching economic reforms.

During the presentation, the President declared that all armed groups operating outside state authority would henceforth be classified and treated as terrorists, signaling a tougher stance on insecurity across the country.

Tagged the “Budget of Consolidation, Renewed Resilience and Shared Prosperity,” the 2026 proposal aims to sustain recent macroeconomic gains, rebuild investor confidence, and ensure that economic recovery translates into job creation and improved living standards for Nigerians.

“I appear before this Joint Session of the National Assembly, in fulfilment of my constitutional duty, to present the 2026 Appropriation Bill,” Tinubu said, describing the moment as “defining” in Nigeria’s reform journey. He acknowledged the pains of reforms over the last two and a half years but assured citizens that “their sacrifices are not in vain.”

The President said Nigeria’s economy was showing clear signs of stabilisation, citing 3.98 per cent GDP growth in Q3 2025, moderation in inflation for eight consecutive months to 14.45 per cent in November 2025, improved oil production, stronger non-oil revenues and rising investor confidence.

External reserves, he disclosed, climbed to a seven-year high of about $47 billion as of mid-November 2025, providing over 10 months of import cover.

“These outcomes are not accidental. They reflect difficult but deliberate policy choices,” Tinubu said, adding that the task ahead was to ensure that “stability becomes prosperity, and prosperity becomes shared prosperity.”

Under the proposal, total revenue is projected at ₦34.33 trillion, while total expenditure stands at ₦58.18 trillion, including ₦15.52 trillion for debt servicing. Recurrent (non-debt) spending is put at ₦15.25 trillion, while capital expenditure totals ₦26.08 trillion. The budget deficit of ₦23.85 trillion represents 4.28 per cent of GDP.

The assumptions underpinning the budget include a crude oil benchmark of $64.85 per barrel, production of 1.84 million barrels per day, and an exchange rate of ₦1,400/$.

“These numbers are not just accounting lines. They are a statement of national priorities,” Tinubu said, stressing commitments to fiscal sustainability, debt transparency and value-for-money spending.

Security tops sectoral allocations with ₦5.41 trillion, followed by infrastructure (₦3.56 trillion), education (₦3.52 trillion) and health (₦2.48 trillion).

Unveiling a sweeping security doctrine, Tinubu said Nigeria was resetting its national security architecture with a unified counter-terrorism approach. “Henceforth, any armed group or gun-wielding non-state actors operating outside state authority will be regarded as terrorists,” he declared.

He listed bandits, militias, armed gangs, kidnappers, violent cult groups, forest-based armed collectives and foreign-linked mercenaries, warning that financiers, ransom facilitators, arms suppliers, political protectors and even community or religious leaders who aid violence would also be designated terrorists.

On budget execution, Tinubu admitted that 2025 implementation faced transition challenges, noting that as of Q3 2025, ₦18.6 trillion in revenue (61% of target) and ₦24.66 trillion in expenditure (60% of target) had been recorded. Only ₦3.10 trillion, about 17.7 per cent of the 2025 capital budget, had been released by Q3.

He pledged stricter discipline in 2026, directing the finance and budget authorities to implement the budget “strictly in line with appropriated details and timelines.” Heads of Government-Owned Enterprises (GOEs) were ordered to meet revenue targets, backed by end-to-end digitisation to seal leakages.

“Nigeria can no longer afford inefficiencies or underperformance in strategic agencies. Every institution must play its part,” he warned.

Tinubu said investments in human capital would be deepened, revealing that over 418,000 students have benefitted from the Nigerian Education Loan Fund in partnership with 229 tertiary institutions. Health spending, he added, represents six per cent of the total budget, excluding liabilities, with over $500 million in prospective U.S. grant funding for targeted health interventions.

On food security, he said agriculture would be prioritised through mechanisation, irrigation, climate-resilient farming, storage and agro-value chains to curb post-harvest losses and boost smallholder incomes.

“The greatest budget is not the one we announce. It is the one we deliver,” Tinubu said, outlining commitments to better revenue mobilisation, smarter spending and stronger accountability.

Laying the bill before lawmakers, he said the 2026 Budget “belongs to all of us,” expressing confidence that cooperation between the Executive and Legislature would deliver the Renewed Hope Agenda.

“It is with great pleasure that I lay before this distinguished Joint Session of the National Assembly the 2026 Appropriation Bill of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” Tinubu concluded. “May God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”