2026 Budget: FEC approves N58.47trn as defence, infrastructure, education receive biggest allocations  

*The Federal Executive Council approves both the amendment to the MTEF and the 2026 Budget proposal before President Bola Ahmed Tinubu presented the N58.47 trillion draft 2026 appropriation bill to the joint session of the National Assembly

Isola Moses | ConsumerConnect

Nigeria’s Federal Executive Council (FEC) Thursday, December 18, 2025, approved both the amendment to the MTEF and the 2026 Budget proposal before President Bola Ahmed Tinubu presented the N58.47 trillion draft 2026 appropriation bill to the joint session of the National Assembly (NASS), Abuja, FCT.

Briefing reporters after the special session of the FEC, in the Presidential Villa, Alhaji Mohammed Idris, Honourable Minister for Information and National Orientation, said Thursday’s meeting was convened strictly to consider, and pass the fiscal document after presentations by the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, and Director-General of the Budget Office, Tanimu Yakubu.

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Bagudu disclosed that Council also endorsed amendments to the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF), including a proposed adjustment of the benchmark exchange rate from N1,512/$ to N1,400/$, with a corresponding effect on budget size.

He also stated: “The Federal Executive Council approved both the amendment to the MTEF and the 2026 budget proposal for presentation to the National Assembly.”

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President Tinubu Presents 2026 Federal Budget To Joint Session Of NASS (Full Text)

According to Yakubu, the N58.47 trillion aggregate expenditure represents a 6% increase over the 2025 estimates.

The total includes: N4.98 trillion in spending by government-owned enterprises (GOEs).

N1.37 trillion for grants and donor-funded projects

The expenditure projection also comprises:

Statutory transfers: N4.1 trillion.

Debt service: N15.52 trillion, including N318.85 billion for a sinking fund to retire maturing domestic bonds owed to contractors and creditors.

Personnel costs (including pensions): N10.75 trillion, about 7% higher than 2025, including N1.02 trillion for GOEs.

Overheads: N2.22 trillion

Capital expenditure stands at N25.68 trillion, a 1.8% reduction from 2025, which Yakubu said reflects a more cautious capital strategy and a priority on completing ongoing projects.

Some key capital allocations include:

MDAs: N11.3 trillion

Multilateral and bilateral project loans: N2.052 trillion

Development levy capital component: N1.8 trillion.

Yakubu said the 2026 budget is designed to maintain “a deliberate balance between macroeconomic stabilisation and development imperatives” under the Renewed Hope Agenda.

Conservative assumptions were applied to oil price, exchange rate, and GOE dividends, while non-oil revenue now accounts for roughly two-thirds of total receipts, signalling a structural shift away from crude-oil dependence.

He noted that corporate tax, VAT, customs revenue and independent income remain the government’s strongest fiscal anchors, while expenditure pressure is being driven largely by debt servicing, wages and pensions rather than discretionary spending.

The small contraction in capital votes, he explained, aims to ensure value for money and completion of inherited and ongoing projects.

Yakubu said the wider fiscal deficit reflects “legacy rigidities rather than policy loosening,” adding that the government will rely mainly on domestic borrowing, supported by concessional multilateral loans, to close the gap.

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