The Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu has presented the N58.18trillion 2026 Appropriation Bill to a joint session of the National Assembly, and earmarked N5.41trillion for Security, the single largest allocation in the proposed budget.
Penpushing reports that Tinubu presenting the budget explained that the national security remained the foundation of economic growth, investment and social stability, while this marked the third consecutive year that defence and security spending has taken priority since the administration began presenting national budgets in November 2023.
The presentation has it that under the proposal, defence and security will receive N5.41trillion, ahead of infrastructure, education and health, reaffirming a pattern established in the 2024 and 2025 budgets, where security consistently attracted the highest sectoral funding amid persistent threats from terrorism, banditry and kidnapping.
Penpushing further reports that Tinubu told the lawmakers that security remains the foundation of development stressing that without peace and stability, other sectors of the economy would struggle to thrive.
The President breaking down the 2026 proposal, explained that the security vote would be deployed to modernise the armed forces, strengthen intelligence-driven policing, enhance border surveillance and support joint operations among security agencies.
Penpushing also reports that he said his administration will invest in security with clear accountability for outcomes emphasizing that security spending must deliver security results,
The President announced a major reset of Nigeria’s national security architecture, including the establishment of a new national counter-terrorism doctrine anchored on unified command, intelligence coordination and community stability.
Penpushing reports that under the proposed framework, Tinubu declared that all armed groups operating outside state authority—including bandits, militias, kidnappers, armed gangs and violent cult groups—would henceforth be classified as terrorists, along with their financiers, informants and political or community enablers.
The President argued that the tougher classification was necessary to close legal and operational gaps that had allowed violent groups to thrive for years., adding that beyond security, the 2026 budget also proposes N3.56trillion for infrastructure, N3.52trillion for education, and N2.48trillion for health, and acknowledged the pressure on public finances but insisted that prioritising security was unavoidable.
“Without security, investment will not thrive. Without educated and healthy citizens, productivity will not rise. Without infrastructure, jobs and enterprise will not scale,” he said, linking the heavy security allocation to broader development goals’.
Penpushing further reports that he urged lawmakers to support the proposal, arguing that the budget was designed to consolidate recent economic gains while restoring public confidence in the state’s ability to protect lives and property.
Meanwhile, hours earlier, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) had approved the 2026 budget framework at an emergency meeting presided over for the first time by Vice President Kashim Shettima and pegged total expenditure at N58.47trillion, with heavy spending pressures from debt service, wages and security obligations.
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