President Bola Tinubu on Friday, December 19, presented Nigeria's 2026 Appropriation Bill, amounting to N58.18 trillion, to a joint session of the National Assembly. The budget, aptly christened ‘Budget of Consolidation, Renewed Resilience and Shared Prosperity’, represents a significant 5.8 percent increase over the N54.99 trillion 2025 appropriation. President Tinubu articulated that this budget is the culmination of two and a half years of “painful but necessary” reforms, meticulously designed to guide Nigeria towards macro-economic stability, foster job-rich growth, and ensure inclusive prosperity for all citizens.

Key aggregates of the 2026 appropriation bill underscore the administration's fiscal framework. Total expected revenue is projected at N34.33 trillion, set against a total expenditure of N58.18 trillion. This expenditure includes a substantial N15.52 trillion earmarked for debt servicing. Recurrent non-debt expenditure is pegged at N15.25 trillion, while capital expenditure stands at N26.08 trillion. The budget carries a deficit of N23.85 trillion, which accounts for 4.28 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), a figure aligned with the administration's fiscal strategy paper.

The budget is firmly anchored on four strategic pillars: consolidating macro-economic stability, enhancing the business and investment climate, promoting job-rich growth and poverty reduction, and strengthening human capital while diligently protecting vulnerable groups. Sectoral allocations reflect these national priorities, with Defence and Security receiving the largest share at N5.41 trillion, which represents approximately 9.3 percent of the total expenditure. Infrastructure is allocated N3.56 trillion, Education N3.52 trillion, and Health N2.48 trillion, with health spending accounting for six percent of the total budget net of liabilities.

President Tinubu emphatically stressed that security remains the bedrock upon which development can thrive. The substantial N5.41 trillion allocation for defence and security is deemed crucial for modernizing the armed forces, enhancing intelligence-driven policing, and effectively securing the nation’s borders. Furthermore, the Nigerian Education Loan Fund has already demonstrated impact by supporting over 418,000 students across 229 tertiary institutions.

Encouraging signs of economic stabilization have been observed, with GDP growing to 3.98 percent in the third quarter of 2025, up from 3.86 percent in the third quarter of 2024. Inflation also saw a notable decrease, falling to 14.45 percent in November from 24.23 percent in March. Moreover, external reserves have reached a seven-year high, approximately 47 billion dollars. To sustain these positive trends, the 2026 budget targets a conservative crude oil benchmark of US$64.85 per barrel, a production output of 1.84 million barrels per day, and an exchange rate of N1,400 to the US dollar.

The President called for stringent discipline in budget execution, directing all ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) to strictly adhere to appropriated timelines and to deploy end-to-end digitization for revenue mobilization to curb leakages. He also advocated for enhanced revenue generation through new National Tax Acts and comprehensive reforms in the oil and gas sector, coupled with stringent performance targets for government-owned enterprises.

A significant aspect of the budget is the introduction of a new national counter-terrorism doctrine. This doctrine reclassifies bandits, militias, armed gangs, and other non-state armed groups as terrorists. It mandates unified command, intelligence-sharing, and community-based peace building as critical components to combat the violence that threatens national survival. President Tinubu concluded by urging unity between the executive and legislative arms of government, emphasizing that the 2026 budget is more than just a list of numbers; it is a profound statement of Nigeria's national priorities and a commitment to delivering the full promise of his administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda.