FULL SPEECH: Tinubu Lays 2026 Budget Before National Assembly

“CONSOLIDATION, RENOVATED RESILIENCE, AND SHARED PROSPERITY BUDGET” Madame Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, is the arranger. On Friday, December 19, 2025, at the National Assembly’s Combined Session in Abuja, Nigeria, President Protocols

Distinguished Senate President, Honorable Speaker, Honorable House of Representatives Members, Honorable National Assembly Members, Honorable Senators, Honorable Nigerians,
I am proposing the 2026 Appropriations Bill to this distinguished Joint Session of the National Assembly for your consideration in order to fulfill a fundamental constitutional duty.
This budget marks a turning point in the reform and change of our country. My government has systematically addressed long-standing structural flaws over the past two and a half years, stabilized our economy, restored trust, and established a solid platform for the development of a more resilient, inclusive, and dynamic Nigeria.
The reforms have not been easy, despite their necessity. Budget execution has been put to the test, established procedures have been upset, and families and businesses have been under strain. I openly admit these challenges. However, I am here today to reassure Nigerians that their sacrifices have not been in vain. Although reform is rarely easy, it is the most reliable path to long-term stability and prosperity for all.
Today, I offer a budget that builds on our achievements, fortifies our resilience, and moves this nation from a state of hopelessness to one of progress.
“Budget of Consolidation, Renewed Resilience and Shared Prosperity” is the subject of the 2026 budget. It demonstrates our commitment to securing macroeconomic stability, enhancing competitiveness, and ensuring that growth results in respectable employment, rising wages, and an improved standard of living for all Nigerians.
Mr. Chairman, Leaders of the National Assembly, this budget seeks to further develop our Nigerian economy for the benefit of all of our citizens, even as the outlook for the world continues to improve.
The fact that our reform initiatives are already producing quantifiable outcomes gives me hope:
In Q3 2025, our economy expanded by 3.98%, compared to 3.86% in Q3 2024.
Eight months in a row, inflation has decreased; headline inflation dropped from 24.23 percent in March 2025 to 14.45 percent in November 2025. Unless there are significant supply shocks, we anticipate that the deflationary trend will continue until 2026 due to stabilizing food and energy prices, tighter monetary conditions, and better supply responses.
Thanks to sector changes, increased security, and the use of technology, oil production has increased.
Thanks to improved tax management, non-oil revenues have increased dramatically.
Capital inflows, fresh project finance, and increased private sector involvement are all signs of the recovery of investor confidence.
As of last month, our external reserves reached a seven-year high of over US47 billion dollars, offering more than ten months’ worth of import coverage and a stronger buffer against shocks.
These results are not coincidental or fortunate. They are the result of our challenging policy decisions. Our next goal is to build on our successes in the quest for sustainable and equitable prosperity.
Distinguished Members, Mr. Chairman, we had to deal with the realities of transition and conflicting execution needs when implementing our 2025 budget. We recorded 18.6 trillion naira in income as of Q3 2025, which is 61% of our plan, and 24.66 trillion naira in expenses, which is 60% of our target.
As of June 2025, 2.23 trillion naira has been released for the execution of 2024 capital projects after the 2024 capital budget execution was extended until December 2025.
Despite ongoing financial difficulties, the government fulfilled its primary responsibilities. However, as of Q3, just 3.10 trillion naira, or around 17.7% of the 2025 capital budget, had been disclosed, indicating the focus on finishing priority 2024 capital projects during the transition period.
To be clear, budget implementation will be more disciplined in 2026. To ensure that the 2026 Budget is implemented strictly in accordance with the appropriated details and timelines, 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 Federation’s Budget Office.
Through the new National Tax Acts and the ongoing reforms in the oil and gas industry, we anticipate better revenue performance. These reforms are intended to promote openness, efficiency, fairness, and long-term value in our fiscal architecture in addition to raising income.
Additionally, I have given precise and straightforward advice on government-owned businesses. All agency heads have been instructed to reach their designated revenue goals. In order to achieve this, we will implement end-to-end digitization of revenue mobilization, including standardized e-collections, interoperable payment rails, automated reconciliation, data-driven risk profiling, and real-time performance dashboards. This will ensure that remittances are timely, compliance is verifiable, and leakages are sealed. These goals will serve as essential elements of institutional scorecards and performance reviews. Nigeria can no longer afford strategic agency underperformance, inefficiencies, or leaks. Each institution has a role to play.
The 2026 Budget is driven by four distinct goals, Mr. Chairman and fellow Nigerians: strengthening human capital development while safeguarding the vulnerable; promoting job-rich growth and reducing poverty; improving the business and investment environment; and consolidating macroeconomic stability.
In summary, we will pursue broad-based, sustainable growth, manage debt with discipline, and spend wisely.
Distinguished Members, the Federal Budget for 2026 is based on growth, prudence, and realism.
The following are the main aggregates:
34.33 trillion naira is the anticipated total revenue.
A total of 58.18 trillion naira is anticipated to be spent, of which 15.52 trillion will go toward debt payment.
The amount spent on recurring (non-debt) expenses is 15.25 trillion naira.
There will be 26.08 trillion in capital expenditures.
It is anticipated that the budget deficit will be 23.85 trillion naira, or 4.28% of GDP.
These figures are more than just accounting lines. They serve as a declaration of the country’s priorities. Value-for-money expenditure, debt transparency, and fiscal sustainability continue to be our top priorities.
The budget’s parameters are established by the 2026–2028 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper. Our estimates are predicated on 1.84 million barrels of crude oil produced daily, a cautious benchmark of US64.85 dollars per barrel, and an average exchange rate of 1,400 naira to the US dollar for the 2026 fiscal year.
We’ll keep cutting back on waste, tightening regulations, and making sure that every rupee borrowed or spent adds quantifiable benefit to society.
The Renewed Hope Agenda and Nigerians’ practical needs are reflected in our allocations. Important sectoral provisions consist of:
5.41 trillion naira for defense and security
3.56 trillion naira for infrastructure
3.52 trillion naira for education
2.48 trillion naira for health
There are connections between these priorities. Investments won’t prosper without security. Productivity won’t increase in the absence of healthy and educated citizens. Businesses and employment cannot grow without infrastructure. Therefore, the purpose of this budget is to offer a single, cohesive national revitalization program.
Peacebuilding and National Security
The cornerstone of prosperity is still national security. The 2026 Budget increases financing for border security and technology-enabled surveillance, community-based peacebuilding and conflict prevention, intelligence-driven policing and joint operations, and modernization of the armed forces.
Because security spending must produce results, we will invest in security with clear accountability for results. Our top priorities will continue to be strengthening our military forces’ and other security agencies’ fighting capabilities and enhancing their efficacy with state-of-the-art gear and other assets in order to defend our nation.
A new age in criminal justice will be ushered in. Those who carry out or encourage acts of terrorism, banditry, kidnapping for ransom, and other violent crimes will have no leniency from us.
The national security infrastructure is being reset by our government, and a new national counterterrorism doctrine is being established. This comprehensive redesign is based on community stability, information gathering, unified command, and counter-insurgency. The way we combat terrorism and other violent crimes will be drastically altered by this new ideology.
Any armed group or non-state actors operating outside of state authority with guns will be considered terrorists under this new architecture.
Targets will include bandits, militias, armed gangs, armed robbers, violent cults, armed groups headquartered in forests, and mercenaries with ties to other countries. We will target everyone who uses violence for sectarian or political purposes, as well as those who support and enable their nefarious plans.
Development of Human Capital: Health and Education
No country can develop beyond the caliber of its citizens. The 2026 Budget increases spending on social protection, healthcare, education, and skills.
Through the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, we are increasing access to higher education. In collaboration with 229 postsecondary institutions around the country, more than 788,000 students have received support.
I’m happy to point out that, net of liabilities, healthcare spending accounts for 6% of the overall budget.
We also value overseas partners’ assistance. Over 500 million US dollars have been made available for health interventions throughout Nigeria as a result of recent high-level discussions with the US government. We applaud this collaboration and reassure Nigerians that these resources will be used in an open and efficient manner.
Economic Productivity and Infrastructure
Projects of various sizes and forms are progressing from concept to reality across the country. Infrastructure for energy and transportation, port modernization, agricultural reforms, and strategic investments to access private financing are some of them.
We will act decisively to bolster agricultural markets. Food security will continue to be a top national concern. The 2026 Budget is centered on agro-value chains, irrigation and climate-resilient agriculture, storage and processing, and input financing and mechanization.
These actions will strengthen agro-industrialization, lower post-harvest losses, boost smallholder incomes, and create a more robust and diverse economy.
The Bank of Agriculture intends to restore faith in our land in 2026 by mechanizing through seven regional hubs, safeguarding harvests with reasonable prices and sizable reserves, giving millions of small holders access to inexpensive financing, and increasing export value. Nigerian farmers would grow one million hectares under the plan, generate hundreds of thousands of employment, and demonstrate that better use of our God-given soil can lead to prosperity.
Purchasing
The administration started a broad framework of procurement reforms in November of last year. Reduced processing times for government contracts and improved enforcement measures aimed at dishonest contractors and government personnel are the outcomes of these reforms, which have improved efficiency and produced significant cost savings for the government.
Our Nigeria First Policy was created to promote domestic goods and companies in order to promote self-sufficiency and sustainable prosperity inside Nigeria. The strategy seeks to promote local industries, generate employment opportunities, and lessen reliance on imported goods by requiring all Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) to prioritize Nigerian-made goods and local businesses. It is anticipated that this audacious new strategy will boost Nigerian businesses’ competitiveness, encourage innovation, and eventually advance the nation’s economy as a whole.
Distinguished Members and fellow Nigerians, the budget we announce is not the most important one. We deliver it.
Thus, three pragmatic commitments will serve as the foundation for 2026:
Improved revenue mobilization through compliance, efficiency, and openness.
Improved spending by giving priority to initiatives that citizens can finish, measure, and experience.
Strengthening procurement discipline, monitoring, and reporting will improve accountability.
By aligning our statements with outcomes and our allocations with results, we will foster trust.
Distinguished The 2026 budget, fellow Nigerians and members of the National Assembly, is a budget of shared prosperity, renewed resilience, and consolidation rather than a budget of promises. It addresses new issues, expands on the changes of the previous two and a half years, and lays out a clear course for a Nigeria that is safer, more competitive, more equal, and more optimistic.
I applaud this nation’s citizens for their compassion and fortitude. My administration is still dedicated to reducing the challenges associated with the shift to a more wealthy and stable country. We pledge to ensure that households and communities throughout the Federation reap the rewards of reform.
We shall fulfill the entire promise of the Renewed Hope Agenda with the cooperation of the Executive and the Legislature and the tenacity of the Nigerian people.
Therefore, I am delighted to present the Federal Republic of Nigeria’s 2026 Appropriations Bill, titled “Budget of Consolidation, Renewed Resilience and Shared Prosperity,” before this esteemed Joint Session of the National Assembly. I’m looking for your help in determining the country’s fiscal direction for the upcoming year.
May the Federal Republic of Nigeria be blessed by God.
I’m grateful.