President Bola Tinubu on Friday unveiled a N58.18 trillion budget proposal for 2026, with security and defense receiving the highest allocation of N5.41 trillion.
This represents the third year running that security spending has dominated the budget since Tinubu’s administration took office in 2023. The President defended the emphasis, telling the National Assembly that national security underpins economic development, investment opportunities and societal peace.
The security allocation surpasses funding proposed for infrastructure (N3.56tn), education (N3.52tn), and healthcare (N2.48tn), continuing a trend driven by ongoing challenges including terrorism, armed banditry and kidnapping incidents across the country.
Speaking before lawmakers, Tinubu stressed that development efforts cannot succeed without first ensuring peace and stability. The security funds will support military modernization, intelligence-based policing, improved border monitoring and coordinated operations among security services.
The President also unveiled plans to overhaul Nigeria’s security structure, introducing a counter-terrorism doctrine built on unified command and intelligence sharing. Significantly, all armed groups operating independently of state authority—including bandits, militias, kidnappers and violent cult organizations—will now be designated as terrorist entities, along with their supporters and financiers.
Tinubu argued this tougher stance would address legal loopholes that have enabled violent groups to operate with relative impunity.
The budget had earlier received Federal Executive Council approval at an emergency session chaired by Vice President Kashim Shettima, with total expenditure set at N58.47 trillion.
Despite acknowledging fiscal constraints, the President maintained that prioritizing security was essential, linking it directly to investment climate, productivity and job creation. He called on the National Assembly to back the proposal, describing it as crucial for consolidating recent economic progress and rebuilding public trust in government’s protective capacity.
