By Olugbenga Salami
President Bola Tinubu has sought the approval of National Assembly to raise the 2026 budget by N9 trillion, lifting it from N58.4 trillion to N67.4 trillion.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio read Tinubu’s letter Tuesday, in which the President said the adjustment would strengthen transparency and fund priority programmes.
Tinubu explained the increase will formalise outstanding legal commitments carried over from earlier budgets, keeping them from disrupting 2026 spending.
It will also consolidate existing government debts inside the fiscal framework.
A third goal, he added, is to fund a handful of strategic projects while protecting macro‑fiscal stability and easing pressure on domestic lenders.
When he presented the N58.18 trillion “Budget of Consolidation, Renewed Resilience and Shared Prosperity” last December, Tinubu earmarked N5.41 trillion—about 9.3%—for defence and security.
The original plan assumed N34.33 trillion revenue, N58.18 trillion expenditure, N15.25 trillion recurrent (non‑debt) costs and N26.08 trillion capital spending, leaving a N23.85 trillion deficit (4.28% of GDP).
Tinubu said those figures reflect realism and growth‑focus, built on a $64.85/barrel oil benchmark, 1.84 million bpd output and N1,400/$ rate.
He stressed the numbers are “a statement of national priorities,” pledging fiscal sustainability, debt transparency and value‑for‑money in execution.
