Breaking: Tinubu presents N58t 2026 budget to Joint Session of National Assembly

by · The Eagle Online

President Bola Tinubu on Friday presented the N58.18 trillion 2026 budget to a joint session of the National Assembly in Abuja.

The President arrived at the chamber amid tight security at 3.01pm, and was received by the leadership of the Senate and House of Representatives, marking the formal kick-off of the 2026 budget cycle.

The opening prayer was said by Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, APC, Abia North at 3.05pm.

In attendance at the joint sitting are several state governors, including those of Imo, Ogun, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Rivers, Delta, Niger, Lagos and Kwara states, underscoring the national significance of the fiscal exercise.

Also present is the Vice President, Kashim Shettima, alongside top government officials, ministers, principal officers of the National Assembly and other key political actors.

The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) is also at the chamber, joining party leaders and stakeholders for the budget presentation.

In his presentation, President Tinubu declared that all armed groups operating outside state authority would henceforth be treated as terrorists,

This was as he vowed tougher security action, stricter budget discipline and deeper economic reforms.

Tagged the “Budget of Consolidation, Renewed Resilience and Shared Prosperity”, the proposal seeks to lock in recent macroeconomic gains, restore investor confidence and translate recovery into jobs and improved living standards for Nigerians.

Tinubu, who began his speech at 3.31pm and was still reading as of 4.02pm, said, “I appear before this Joint Session of the National Assembly, in fulfilment of my constitutional duty, to present the 2026 Appropriation Bill.”

The President described the moment as “defining” in Nigeria’s reform journey, acknowledging the pains of reforms over the last two and a half years but assured citizens that “their sacrifices are not in vain.”

Tinubu noted that Nigeria’s economy was showing clear signs of stabilisation, citing 3.98 percent GDP growth in Q3 2025, moderation in inflation for eight consecutive months to 14.45 percent 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 N34.33 trillion, while total expenditure stands at N58.18 trillion, including N15.52 trillion for debt servicing.

Recurrent (non-debt) spending is put at N15.25 trillion, while capital expenditure totals N26.08 trillion. The budget deficit of N23.85 trillion represents 4.28 percent of GDP.

The assumptions underpinning the budget include a crude oil benchmark of $64.85 per barrel, production of 1.84 million barrels per day, and an exchange rate of N1,400/$.

“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.

In his breakdown, security tops sectoral allocations with N5.41 trillion, followed by infrastructure (N3.56 trillion), education (N3.52 trillion) and health (N2.48 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, N18.6 trillion in revenue (61% of target) and N24.66 trillion in expenditure (60% of target) had been recorded. Only N3.10 trillion, about 17.7 percent 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 appropriate 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.

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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 percent 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 benefit “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.”

Details later…

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