President Bola Tinubu on Thursday presented the 2026 Appropriation Bill to a joint session of the National Assembly, proposing a total budget of N58.46 trillion, with non-debt recurrent expenditure estimated at N15.25 trillion.
In his address, the President fixed capital expenditure at
N26.08 trillion and set the crude oil price benchmark for the fiscal year at
US$64.85 per barrel.
Here is a full text of the President’s speech and a
breakdown of the 2026 budget as released.
PROTOCOLS
Distinguished Senate President,
Rt. Honourable Speaker and Honourable Members of the House
of Representatives,
Distinguished Senators and Honourable Members of the
National Assembly,
Fellow Nigerians,
1. I appear before this Joint Session of the National
Assembly, in fulfilment of my constitutional duty, to present the 2026
Appropriation Bill of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
2. This is a defining moment in our national journey of
reform and transformation. Over the last two and a half years, we made a
deliberate choice: to confront long‑standing structural weaknesses,
stabilize our economy, rebuild confidence, and lay a durable foundation for a
more resilient, inclusive, and dynamic Nigeria.
3. These reforms were necessary — and they have not been
painless. Families and businesses have faced pressure; established systems have
been disrupted; and budget execution has been tested. I acknowledge these
difficulties plainly, and I assure Nigerians that their sacrifices are not in
vain. The path of reform is seldom smooth, but it is the surest route to
lasting stability and shared prosperity.
4. Today, we come with a Budget that consolidates our gains,
strengthens our resilience, and turns recovery into improved living standards
for every Nigerian household.
THEME OF THE 2026 BUDGET
5. The 2026 Budget is themed: “Budget of Consolidation,
Renewed Resilience and Shared Prosperity”. It reflects our determination to
lock in macroeconomic stability, deepen competitiveness, and ensure that growth
translates into decent jobs, rising incomes, and a better quality of life
across our Federation.
ECONOMIC REALITIES: SIGNS OF STABILISATION, PURPOSE OF THE
NEXT STEP
6. Mr. Chairman of this Joint Sitting, the 2026 Budget was
prepared against an improving global outlook. Yet, our focus remains Nigeria:
building a strong economy that works for our people.
7. I am encouraged that our reform efforts are already
yielding measurable results:
Our economy grew by 3.98% in Q3 2025, higher than the 3.86%
recorded in Q3 2024.
Inflation has moderated for eight consecutive months, with
headline inflation declining to 14.45% in November 2025, from 24.23% in March
2025. With stabilising food and energy prices, tighter monetary conditions, and
improving supply responses, we expect the disinflationary trend to persist—so
that inflation continues to decline further over the 2026 horizon, barring
major supply shocks.
Oil production has improved, supported by enhanced security,
technology deployment, and sector reforms.
Non‑oil revenues have expanded significantly through better
tax administration —not excessive taxation.
Investor confidence is returning, reflected in capital
inflows, renewed project financing, and stronger private‑sector
participation.
Our external reserves rose to a 7‑year high of
about US$47 billion as at 14 November 2025, providing more than 10 months of
import cover and a stronger buffer against shocks.
8. These outcomes are not accidental. They reflect difficult
but deliberate policy choices. Our task now is to consolidate these gains—so
that stability becomes prosperity, and prosperity becomes shared prosperity.
2025 BUDGET PERFORMANCE: LESSONS, ACCOUNTABILITY, AND
EXECUTION
9. Distinguished Members, our 2025 budget implementation
faced the realities of transition and competing execution demands. As at Q3
2025, we recorded:
N18.6 trillion in revenue—representing 61% of our target;
and
N24.66 trillion in expenditure—representing 60% of our
target.
10. Following the extension of the 2024 capital budget
execution to December 2025, a total of N2.23 trillion was released for the
implementation of 2024 capital projects as at June 2025.
11. While fiscal challenges persisted, the government met
its key obligations. However, only N3.10 trillion—about 17.7% of the 2025
capital budget—was released as at Q3, reflecting the emphasis on completing
priority 2024 capital projects during the transition period.
12. 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.
13. 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.
14. 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. Nigeria can no longer afford
leakages, inefficiencies, or underperformance in strategic agencies. Every
institution must play its part.
PHILOSOPHY AND OBJECTIVES OF THE 2026 BUDGET
15. Mr. Chairman and fellow Nigerians, the 2026 Budget is
guided by four clear objectives:
One, consolidate macroeconomic stability;
Two, improve the business and investment environment;
Three, promote job‑rich growth and reduce poverty;
and
Four, strengthen human capital while protecting the
vulnerable.
16. In short: we will spend with purpose, manage debt with
discipline, and pursue growth that is broad‑based — not
narrow — and sustainable — not
temporary.
2026 BUDGET OVERVIEW: THE FISCAL FRAMEWORK
17. Distinguished Members, the 2026 Federal Budget is
anchored on realism, prudence, and growth orientation.
18. The key aggregates are as follows:
Expected total revenue: N34.33 trillion.
Projected total expenditure: N58.18 trillion, including
N15.52 trillion for debt servicing.
Recurrent (non‑debt) expenditure: N15.25
trillion.
Capital expenditure: N26.08 trillion.
Budget deficit: N23.85 trillion, representing 4.28% of GDP.
19. These numbers are not just accounting lines. They are a
statement of national priorities. We remain firmly committed to fiscal
sustainability, debt transparency, and value‑for‑money spending.
20. The 2026–2028 Medium‑Term Expenditure Framework and
Fiscal Strategy Paper sets the parameters for this Budget. Our projections are
based on:
a conservative crude oil benchmark of US$64.85 per barrel;
crude oil production of 1.84 million barrels per day; and
an exchange rate of ₦1,400 to the US Dollar for the 2026
fiscal year.
21. We will continue to reduce waste, strengthen controls,
and ensure that every naira borrowed or spent delivers measurable public value
— especially in infrastructure, human capital, and security.
PRIORITIES AND ALLOCATIONS: SECURITY, PEOPLE, PRODUCTIVITY
22. Our allocations reflect the Renewed Hope Agenda and the
practical needs of Nigerians. Key sectoral provisions include:
Defence and Security: N5.41 trillion
Infrastructure: N3.56 trillion
Education: N3.52 trillion
Health: N2.48 trillion
23. These priorities are interlinked. Without security,
investment will not thrive. Without educated and healthy citizens, productivity
will not rise. Without infrastructure, jobs and enterprise will not scale. This
is why the Budget is designed as one coherent programme of national renewal.
24. Security remains the foundation of development. The 2026
Budget strengthens support for:
modernisation of the Armed Forces;
intelligence‑driven policing and joint
operations;
border security and technology‑enabled surveillance; and
community‑based peacebuilding and conflict
prevention.
25. We will invest in security with clear accountability for
outcomes—because security spending must deliver security results. To secure our
country, our priority will remain on increasing the fighting capability of our
armed forces and other security agencies by boosting personnel and procuring
cutting-edge platforms and other hardware. We are also pursuing a new era of
criminal justice system to stamp out terrorism, banditry, kidnapping for ransom
and other violent crimes. 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.
Henceforth, and under this new architecture, any armed group
or gun-wielding non-state actors operating outside state authority will be
regarded as terrorists. These include bandits, militias, armed gangs, criminal
networks with weapons, armed robbers, violent cult groups, forest-based armed
collectives, and foreign-linked mercenaries. Groups or individuals conducting
violence for political, ethnic, financial, or sectarian objectives are also
classified as terrorists. Members of any
group extorting communities, kidnapping civilians, occupying or seeking to
occupy territory within Nigeria will be classified as terrorists. The
denominator is that if you wield lethal weapons and act outside the state’s
authority, you are a terrorist. Any individual or entity that enables the
listed groups as financiers, money handlers, harbourers, informants, ransom
facilitators, and negotiators will also be classified as terrorists. Political
protectors and intermediaries, transporters, arms suppliers, and safe-house
owners will be declared as terrorists.
Politicians, traditional rulers, community leaders, and religious
leaders who facilitate and encourage violent actions and terror within Nigeria
and against our citizens are also terrorists.
26. No nation can grow beyond the quality of its people. The
2026 Budget strengthens investments in education, skills, healthcare, and
social protection.
27. In education, we are expanding access to higher
education through the Nigerian Education Loan Fund. Over 418,000 students have
been supported, in partnership with 229 tertiary institutions nationwide.
28. In healthcare, I am pleased to highlight that investment
in healthcare is 6% of total budget size, net of liabilities.
29. We also appreciate the support of international
partners. Recent high‑level engagements with the Government of the United
States have opened the door to over US$500 million in grant funding for
targeted health interventions across Nigeria. We welcome this partnership and
assure Nigerians that these resources will be deployed transparently and
effectively.
30. Across the nation, projects under the Renewed Hope
Agenda are moving from vision to reality—transport and energy infrastructure,
port modernisation, agricultural reforms, and strategic investments that unlock
private capital.
31. We will take decisive steps to strengthen agricultural
markets. Food security is national security. The 2026 Budget prioritises input
financing and mechanisation; irrigation and climate‑resilient
agriculture; storage and processing; and agro‑value chains.
32. These measures will reduce post‑harvest
losses, improve incomes for smallholders, deepen agro‑industrialisation,
and build a more resilient, diversified economy.
DELIVERY, DISCIPLINE, AND NATIONAL COMPACT
33. Distinguished Members and fellow Nigerians, the greatest
budget is not the one we announce. It is the one we deliver.
34. Therefore, 2026 will be guided by three practical
commitments:
Better revenue mobilisation through efficiency,
transparency, and compliance—especially from GOEs and improved oil and gas
sector governance.
Better spending: prioritising projects that can be
completed, measured, and felt by citizens.
Better accountability: strengthening procurement discipline,
monitoring, and reporting—so Nigerians can see what their money is funding.
35. This is how we will build trust: by matching our words
with results, and our allocations with outcomes.
CONCLUSION: A BUDGET THAT BELONGS TO ALL OF US
36. Distinguished Members of the National Assembly, fellow
Nigerians, the 2026 Budget is not a budget of promises; it is a Budget of
Consolidation, Renewed Resilience and Shared Prosperity. It builds on the
reforms of the past two and a half years, addresses emerging challenges, and
sets a clear path towards a more secure, more competitive, more equitable, and
more hopeful Nigeria.
37. I commend the understanding, sacrifice, and resilience
of our people. My administration remains committed to easing the burdens of
transition and ensuring that the benefits of reform reach households and
communities across the Federation.
38. With unity of purpose between the Executive and the
Legislature—and with the resilience of the Nigerian people—we will deliver the
full promise of the Renewed Hope Agenda.
39. It is with great pleasure, therefore, that I lay before
this distinguished Joint Session of the National Assembly the 2026
Appropriation Bill of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, titled: “Budget of
Consolidation, Renewed Resilience and Shared Prosperity”.
May God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
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