President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Friday presented a ₦58.18 trillion 2026 Appropriation Bill to the National Assembly, projecting a ₦23.85 trillion deficit and signalling what he described as a transition from economic survival to sustained growth and shared prosperity .
The budget, themed “Budget of Consolidation, Renewed Resilience and Shared Prosperity,” was laid before a joint session of the Senate and House of Representatives in Abuja. Tinubu said it was designed to consolidate recent reforms, strengthen economic resilience and ensure that growth delivers jobs, rising incomes and improved quality of life for Nigerians .
The President acknowledged that the economic reforms undertaken over the last two and a half years had imposed hardships on households and businesses but maintained that the sacrifices were yielding results. He pointed to GDP growth of 3.98 per cent in the third quarter of 2025, sustained moderation in inflation over eight consecutive months, and headline inflation falling to 14.45 per cent in November 2025, down from over 24 per cent earlier in the year .
According to Tinubu, oil production has improved due to enhanced security and sector reforms, while non-oil revenues have expanded through better tax administration. He also disclosed that Nigeria’s external reserves rose to about $47 billion, a seven-year high, providing more than ten months of import cover .
Under the proposal, total revenue is estimated at ₦34.33 trillion, while total expenditure is projected at ₦58.18 trillion, including ₦15.52 trillion for debt servicing. Capital expenditure stands at ₦26.08 trillion, recurrent (non-debt) spending at ₦15.25 trillion, and the budget deficit at 4.28 per cent of GDP .
The 2026 budget assumptions are based on a $64.85 per barrel oil benchmark, 1.84 million barrels per day oil production, and an average exchange rate of ₦1,400 to the dollar .
Tinubu outlined four core priorities for the fiscal year: consolidating macroeconomic stability, improving the business and investment environment, promoting job-rich growth and poverty reduction, and strengthening human capital while protecting the vulnerable .
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. The President said security spending would focus on modernising the armed forces, intelligence-driven policing and a new counter-terrorism doctrine that designates all armed non-state actors as terrorists .
In education, he highlighted the expansion of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, which has supported more than 788,000 students across 229 tertiary institutions nationwide. Health spending, he said, accounts for about six per cent of the total budget, excluding liabilities, with additional support expected from international partners, including over $500 million pledged for health interventions .
The President also announced intensified agricultural and infrastructure investments, with the Bank of Agriculture expected to support the cultivation of one million hectares and generate hundreds of thousands of jobs through mechanisation, irrigation and agro-value chain development .
Tinubu pledged stricter discipline in budget implementation in 2026, directing key finance and budget officials to ensure adherence to appropriations and timelines, while revenue mobilisation would be strengthened through new tax laws, oil and gas reforms and end-to-end digitisation of government revenue systems to block leakages .
He urged lawmakers to partner with the Executive to ensure effective delivery, stressing that the true value of the budget would be measured not by announcements but by tangible outcomes for Nigerians under the Renewed Hope Agenda .
