President Tinubu Presents 2026 Budget Of ₦58.18 Trillion To National Assembly
President Bola Tinubu has presented the 2026 Appropriation Bill of ₦58.18 trillion to a joint session of the National Assembly.
At the joint session today, December 19, the President said that the Budget, titled “Budget of Consolidation, Renewed Resilience and Shared Prosperity,” is designed to consolidate recent economic reforms and translate stabilising macroeconomic indicators into improved living standards for Nigerians.
The President announced the end of the long-standing practice of running multiple budgets in the country.
He said that the era of overlapping budgets, abandoned projects, inherited obligations, and perpetual rollovers must come to an end if Nigeria is to achieve fiscal discipline and sustainable development.
“Before I go any further, let me be upfront. This is a reset, a very hard one.”
He said that the practice of avoiding abandoned projects, piling up contractual obligations and running multiple budgets on a single inflow has continued to undermine effective governance and economic planning.
“We are terminating the habit of running three budgets in one inflow. By March 31, 2026, all capital liabilities from previous years will be fully funded and closed.
“From April, Nigeria will operate on a single budget backed by a single revenue cycle — no overlaps, no excuses, no rollovers.”
On measures to ensure strict adherence to appropriate timelines, improved revenue mobilisation, and tighter accountability across government institutions, the President said the 2025 budget implementation faced the realities of transition and competing execution demands.
”As at Q3 2025, we recorded ₦18.6 trillion in revenue—representing 61% of our target and ₦24.66 trillion in expenditure—representing 60% of our target.
“Following the extension of the 2024 capital budget execution to December 2025, a total of ₦2.23 trillion was released for the implementation of 2024 capital projects as of June 2025.
”While fiscal challenges persisted, the government met its key obligations. However, only ₦3.10 trillion—about 17.7% of the 2025 capital budget—was released as of Q3, reflecting the emphasis on completing priority 2024 capital projects during the transition period.
”Let me be clear: 2026 will be a year of stronger discipline in budget execution. I have issued directives to the Honourable Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, the Honourable Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, the Accountant General of the Federation, and the Director General of the Budget Office of the Federation to ensure that the 2026 Budget is implemented strictly in line with the appropriated details and timelines.
”We expect improved revenue performance through the new National Tax Acts and the ongoing reforms in the oil and gas sector—reforms designed not merely to raise revenue, but to drive transparency, efficiency, fairness, and long term value in our fiscal architecture.”
The President stressed that the focus on discipline and delivery is aimed at restoring public trust in the budget process, stressing that “the greatest budget is not the one we announce. It is the one we deliver.”
Tinubu warned Government-Owned Enterprises (GOEs) and revenue generating agencies that underperformance would no longer be tolerated, declaring that “Nigeria can no longer afford leakages, inefficiencies, or underperformance in strategic agencies.”
”I will also be unequivocal about Government Owned Enterprises. Heads of all GOEs are hereby directed to meet their assigned revenue targets.
”To support this, we will deploy end to end digitisation of revenue mobilisation—standardised e collections, interoperable payment rails, automated reconciliation, data driven risk profiling, and real time performance dashboards—so leakages are sealed, compliance is verifiable, and remittances are prompt.
”These targets will form core components of performance evaluations and institutional scorecards.”
Highlighting recent economic indicators, President Tinubu said that Nigeria’s economy grew by 3.98 per cent in the third quarter of 2025, compared to 3.86 per cent in the same period of 2024, while inflation moderated for eight consecutive months, declining to 14.45 per cent in November 2025 from 24.23 per cent in March.
He cited improved oil production, expanded non-oil revenues through better tax administration, renewed investor confidence, and external reserves rising to a seven-year high of about US$47 billion.
“These outcomes are not accidental. They reflect difficult but deliberate policy choices.”
The President said that the 2026 Budget projects total expenditure of ₦58.18 trillion and expected revenue of ₦34.33 trillion. Capital expenditure is estimated at ₦26.08 trillion, while recurrent non-debt expenditure stands at ₦15.25 trillion.
Debt servicing is projected at ₦15.52 trillion, with a budget deficit of ₦23.85 trillion, representing 4.28 per cent of Gross Domestic Product.
The Budget is anchored on conservative assumptions, including a crude oil benchmark of US$64.85 per barrel, daily oil production of 1.84 million barrels, and an exchange rate of ₦1,400 to the US dollar for the 2026 fiscal year. President Tinubu said the assumptions reflect the administration’s commitment to realism, prudence, and fiscal sustainability.
President Tinubu identified security, infrastructure, education, health, and agricultural productivity as key priorities in the 2026 budget.
According to him, the proposed 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.
He stressed that the priorities are interconnected, noting that “without security, investment will not thrive,” while educated and healthy citizens are essential for productivity and economic growth.
On the fight against terrorism, the President declared that the Federal Government will show no mercy to terrorists and violent criminal elements.
He announced the establishment of a new national counter-terrorism doctrine to decisively confront terrorism, banditry, kidnapping for ransom, and other violent crimes threatening Nigeria’s stability.
”Our administration is resetting the national security architecture and establishing a new national counterterrorism doctrine—a holistic redesign anchored on unified command, intelligence, community stability, and counter-insurgency.
”This new doctrine will fundamentally change how we confront terrorism and other violent crimes that have become existential threats to our corporate survival and have heightened anxiety among our people,” he said.
On health sector, President Tinubu welcomed over US$500 million in grant funding secured through recent high-level engagements with the Government of the United States for targeted health interventions across Nigeria.
He described the support as a decisive vote of confidence in Nigeria’s reform agenda and health sector priorities.
“We welcome this partnership and assure Nigerians that these resources will be deployed transparently and effectively.”
President Tinubu noted that strengthening Nigeria’s healthcare system remains a central pillar of his administration’s human capital development strategy, stressing that a healthy population is essential to productivity, economic growth, and national resilience.
He said that the 2026 budget reinforces investments in healthcare delivery, disease prevention, maternal and child health, and health system strengthening, while ensuring accountability in the use of both domestic and international resources.
President Tinubu reaffirmed that projects under the Renewed Hope Agenda are steadily moving from vision to reality nationwide, with significant progress recorded in transport and energy infrastructure, port modernisation, agricultural reforms, and strategic investments designed to unlock private capital.
He explained that infrastructure development remains critical to reducing the cost of doing business, expanding market access, creating jobs, and improving the quality of life for Nigerians.
Tinubu underscored the administration’s firm commitment to food security, describing it as a national priority and a core component of economic stability and social well-being.
”We will take decisive steps to strengthen agricultural markets. Food security shall remain a national priority. The 2026 Budget focuses on input financing and mechanisation; irrigation and climate resilient agriculture; storage and processing; and agro value chains.
“These measures will reduce post harvest losses, improve incomes for small holders, deepen agro industrialisation, and build a more resilient, diversified economy.
President Tinubu commended Nigerians for their understanding and resilience, assuring that his administration remains committed to easing the burdens of the transition to a more stable and prosperous nation.
”We promise to make sure that the benefits of reform reach households and communities across the Federation.”
Aisha vs Buhari, Dangote vs Farouk And Gov Buni’s Development Stride In Yobe, By Hassan Gimba
Many things happened in Nigeria last week that will trend for a time. Among them were two weighty revelations, one of which led to two ‘juicy’ resignations. There was the revelation by Aisha Buhari, the late President Muhammadu Buhari’s wife, that the former president began locking his door to keep her out of his room. Reason? That he heard Villa rumours that she wanted to kill him. An old General fearing the woman who has been married to him for over 30 years!
The other was by Aliko Dangote, the richest Black man on Earth. He revealed that Farouk Ahmed, the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), has spent $5 million over six years on his four children’s education at Swiss secondary schools. Well, most likely, Nigerians might not have heard the Dangote allegation had Farouk not stepped on his toes, one way or the other. But then he once told us about the refineries in Malta, so it may not be because someone threatened to take the ice cream out of his mouth. Again, someone else might have used the information for “trade by barter,” so sleeping dogs will continue to lie. This revelation could have been the reason Farouk resigned. Whatever the case, may the elite continue to regale Nigerians with more revelations against one another.
And beyond those revelations is the ‘inconceivable’ and ‘impossible’ feat achieved by Yobe State a little earlier than these two revelations.
For those who do not know Yobe or the milestone achievements of His Excellency, Governor Mai Mala Buni in the state across various sectors, the fact that Yobe has emerged Nigeria’s number one state in Primary Health Care is unimaginable.
But it is neither inconceivable nor impossible for those who have been following the state since Buni became Governor.
Leadership newspaper of 15 December wrote: “Yobe State has once again distinguished itself as a national pacesetter in healthcare delivery, emerging as Nigeria’s leading state in Primary Health Care (PHC) following outstanding performances at the 2025 PHC Leadership Challenge Awards held in Abuja.
“Under the visionary leadership of Governor Mai Mala Buni, the state clinched both regional and national honours, reinforcing its growing reputation for excellence in grassroots healthcare.
“Yobe was named the Best Performing State in the North-East for the second consecutive year, winning the title in 2024 and 2025, with each award attracting a $500,000 prize.
“In an even more remarkable feat, the state also emerged as the Overall Best Performing State in Nigeria at the 2025 edition of the awards, securing an additional $700,000, bringing the total prize money earned by Yobe to $1.2 million, a clear testament to the state’s sustained investment and reforms in the health sector.”
The name Yobe used to be synonymous with “Number one from the rear,” but “Number one in front”? It is something new that began with the ascension of Governor Buni to the state’s governorship. How did he make Yobe a home of peace, an educational model whose students are now winning national and international accolades, an agricultural hub on the way to becoming the nation’s food basket, the best-performing state in the North-East, health-wise, for two years running, and the overall best in Nigeria this year?
What did he do to make the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) report that the state is the most affordable place to live in Nigeria? According to the NBS reports of July 2025, “Yobe State is Nigeria’s most affordable state to live in, with low costs driven by falling inflation and successful agricultural programs boosting food security and local markets, making it relatively cheaper for housing and daily living compared to other states, especially around cities like Damaturu and Potiskum where business thrives, though security improvements are key to sustained affordability.”
When, on 29 May 2019, Honourable Mai Mala Buni became the seventh to be sworn in as Governor of Yobe State, but the fourth man to assume that office, he made specific declarations that many waited with bated breath to see come to fruition.
He announced a state of emergency on education and also promised to enhance agriculture, which is the mainstay of the people. He told the people of the state that “Yobe First” in everything, to empower indigenes, would be his mantra and that he would pursue peaceful coexistence and quality health delivery for the people.
Of course, without peace and good health, which farmer can farm and which student can learn anything? Or is there a teacher who can teach without them?
So, he first did all he could to establish peace in the state by providing security agencies with the resources they needed, thereby boosting their capacity to confront crime and criminals and, consequently, their morale.
He went further to make the political landscape level and fair, jettisoning the “by all means” politics hitherto known in the state in favour of a healthy contest between brothers who desire to contribute their quota for the benefit of the state. This was attested to by no less a personality than Adamu Maina Waziri. Waziri, a founding father of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and now among the doyens of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), is one of Yobe’s greatest politicians and the state’s most prominent opposition figure since 1999.
Not only that, he was among those who worked to create the state, serving as the movement’s Secretary. Therefore, he should be familiar with the state’s political history, having been part of it from the beginning. And anybody who knows him knows that he is a very fair person. One of the attributes he shares with Buni is their capacity to be fair to people, even when they are not on the same page. And though he would fight any opponent, any day, including Buni, for political control of Yobe, he still once opined that the Governor has brought peace to Yobe politics, which used to be a “do or die” affair. Many attest that the hitherto volatility of politics in the state is now a thing of the past. Having put the peace process in place, he declared a state of emergency on education and launched an ambitious ₦25 billion appeal fund.
The aim was to take out-of-school children off the streets and provide high-quality education across the state. ₦10 billion was pledged, out of which about ₦2 billion was redeemed. He set up the Yobe Education Trust Fund, composed of eminent and trustworthy indigenes, under the chairmanship of Engineer Muhammad Abubakar, a seasoned civil servant who served as a Deputy Chief of Staff in the Presidency, and entrusted the funds to it.
So far, under his watch, new schools have been constructed, and hostels and classrooms in existing schools have been renovated. Laboratories and ICT centres have been built and equipped. His Yobe First promise ensured that, except when only outsiders had the technical expertise to perform a standard job, all contracts were executed by indigenes.
His vision led to the recruitment of over 4,000 education staff and the retraining of almost 30,000.
Dr.Hassan Gimba, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Neptune Prime wrote in from Abuja.