President Bola Tinubu will present the ₦54 trillion 2026 budget to a joint session of the National Assembly today.
The two chambers of the National Assembly have already approved the 2026–2028 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and the Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP), which form the foundation of the proposed budget.
The Senate approved the framework on Tuesday, while the House of Representatives followed on Thursday after extensive debates, during which some lawmakers raised concerns over key parameters of the framework.
This is President Tinubu’s third full budget since he assumed office in May 2023.
He notified lawmakers of his intention to present the budget through a letter transmitted on Wednesday by his Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila.
The proposed 2026 budget outlines total expenditure of ₦54.46 trillion and includes a new borrowing plan of ₦17.88 trillion, comprising both domestic and foreign loans. Projected revenue stands at ₦34.33 trillion, while debt servicing is estimated at ₦15.52 trillion.
Capital expenditure is pegged at ₦20.131 trillion. Pensions, gratuities, and retirees’ benefits are estimated at ₦1.376 trillion, while statutory transfers are projected at ₦3.152 trillion. The sinking fund is set at ₦388.54 billion. Total recurrent (non-debt) expenditure is estimated at ₦15.265 trillion, with special interventions for recurrent and capital spending pegged at ₦200 billion and ₦14 billion, respectively.
The proposal is based on a benchmark oil price of $60 per barrel, daily domestic crude oil production of 1.84 million barrels per day (mbpd), and an exchange rate of ₦1,512 to the dollar. Inflation is projected at 16.5 per cent, while GDP growth is estimated at 4.68 per cent, largely driven by anticipated gains from ongoing tax reforms.
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President Tinubu is submitting the budget less than two weeks before the end of the year. Unlike the January–December budget cycle introduced under the late former President Muhammadu Buhari, the current administration has not maintained a fixed fiscal calendar, resulting in overlapping budgets within a single fiscal year
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