Tinubu okays ₦68.32trn 2026 budget, extends 2025 spending deadline
President Bola Tinubu has signed the 2026 Appropriation Bill into law, authorising an aggregate expenditure of ₦68.32 trillion for the current fiscal year.
He also signed a separate bill extending the implementation period of the 2025 budget from March 31 to June 30, 2026.
According to The Punch online, budget allocates ₦4.799 trillion for statutory transfers and ₦15.8 trillion for debt service.
It further sets aside ₦15.4 trillion for recurrent expenditure and ₦32.2 trillion for capital expenditure through the Development Fund.
The presidency made the disclosure in a statement signed by Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga on Friday.
The statement read, “President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has assented to the 2026 Appropriation Bill, which provides for an aggregate expenditure of ₦68.32 trillion. He has also signed the bill extending the implementation period for the 2025 budget from March 31, 2026, to June 30, 2026.
“The N68.32 trillion budget for this year earmarks N4.799 trillion for statutory transfers and N15.8 trillion for debt service.
It allocates N15.4 trillion to recurrent expenditure and N32.2 trillion to the Development Fund for Capital Expenditure.
“With capital expenditure accounting for about 50 per cent, the 2026 budget underscores the administration’s continued commitment to economic stability, national security, infrastructure development, and inclusive growth.
“The allocations reflect a strategic balance between statutory obligations, debt servicing, recurrent expenditure, and capital investments critical to driving productivity and improving the quality of life for Nigerians,” it added.
The 2026 Appropriation Act took effect on April 1, with the Federal Government commencing full implementation in line with what the presidency describes as the Renewed Hope Agenda.
Tinubu also assented to the Appropriation (Repeal and Enactment) (Amendment) Bill, 2026, which extends the capital component of the 2025 Appropriation Act by three months to June 30.
The presidency said the extension would ensure the full utilisation of appropriated funds, particularly for critical infrastructure projects at advanced stages of implementation.
“The extension will ensure the full and effective utilisation of appropriated funds, particularly for critical infrastructure and development projects that are at advanced stages of implementation across the country.
“It will enable Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) to consolidate ongoing works, enhance project completion rates, and maximise value for public expenditure,” the statement read.
Tinubu directed MDAs to ensure disciplined, transparent, and efficient utilisation of allocated resources, with strong emphasis on value for money and timely project delivery.
He commended the leadership and members of the National Assembly for what the presidency described as their “diligence, cooperation, and patriotism in expeditiously considering and passing the budget.”
“The President reaffirmed the importance of sustained collaboration between the Executive and Legislative arms of government in advancing national development objectives,” the statement noted.
Tinubu also assured Nigerians of his administration’s resolve to deepen fiscal reforms and boost revenue generation.
“He further assured Nigerians of his administration’s resolve to deepen fiscal reforms, enhance revenue generation, and prioritise investments that will stimulate economic growth, create jobs, and strengthen social protection mechanisms,” the statement read.
The budget, titled “The Budget of Consolidation, Renewed Resilience and Shared Prosperity,” was originally presented to a joint session of the National Assembly on December 19, 2025, at a proposed sum of ₦58.47 trillion.
It passed second reading in the House of Representatives on January 29, 2026, before going through further legislative scrutiny and emerging at ₦68.32 trillion at the point of assent.
During the second reading debate in January, House Leader Julius Ihonvbere had urged lawmakers to support the proposal, pointing to a projected 3.98 per cent economic growth rate for 2026, a projected drop in inflation to 14.45 per cent, improved revenues, and foreign direct investment growth.
He also cited a stabilisation of the naira at around ₦1,400 to the dollar and a rise in Nigeria’s external reserves to a seven-year high of approximately $47 billion.
When Tinubu presented the bill to lawmakers in December, he described it as a defining moment in Nigeria’s reform journey, acknowledging the pressures the process had placed on households and businesses while insisting the sacrifices were necessary.
“The path of reform is seldom smooth, but it is the surest route to lasting stability and shared prosperity,” he told the joint session.
He vowed that 2026 would mark a decisive shift to stronger budget execution discipline, announcing an end to the long-standing practice of running overlapping budgets and perpetual rollovers.
The budget’s four stated objectives are consolidating macroeconomic stability, improving the business and investment environment, promoting job-rich growth, and strengthening human capital development while protecting the vulnerable.
Key sectoral allocations include ₦5.41 trillion for defence and security, ₦3.56 trillion for infrastructure, ₦3.52 trillion for education, and ₦2.48 trillion for health.
Minister of Information Mohammed Idris, writing in a January op-ed, described the budget as a commitment to consolidate what was working in the administration’s reform programme and ensure that shared prosperity became “a lived reality for more Nigerians, faster.”
He pointed to expanding business activity, improving investor confidence, easing inflation, and stronger external reserves as early indicators of progress, and highlighted ongoing infrastructure projects including the Coastal Highway, Sokoto–Badagry Expressway, and Ajaokuta–Kaduna–Kano Gas Pipeline as evidence of the administration’s delivery record.
