President Bola Tinubu has proposed a massive ₦5.41 trillion allocation for defence and security in Nigeria’s 2026 budget, making it the single largest sectoral vote in the proposed spending plan.
The security allocation dominates the ₦58.18 trillion Appropriation Bill presented on Friday to a joint session of the National Assembly, marking the third consecutive year that security has topped federal spending priorities under the Tinubu administration.
Addressing lawmakers, the President stressed that national security remains the backbone of economic growth, investor confidence and social stability, insisting that no meaningful development can occur without peace.
“Security remains the foundation of development,” Tinubu said, noting that insecurity continues to pose a serious threat to lives, livelihoods and economic progress across the country.
Under the proposal, defence and security spending surpasses allocations to other key sectors, including infrastructure, education and health. This mirrors the pattern seen in the 2024 and 2025 budgets, as the government grapples with ongoing challenges such as terrorism, banditry, kidnapping and violent criminal activity.
Tinubu explained that the ₦5.41 trillion earmarked for security would be used to modernise the armed forces, strengthen intelligence-led policing, enhance border surveillance and improve coordination among security agencies through joint operations.
Earlier in the day, the Federal Executive Council approved the 2026 budget framework at an emergency meeting presided over by Vice President Kashim Shettima, the first time he would chair the council in that capacity. The council fixed total expenditure at ₦58.47 trillion, citing mounting pressures from debt servicing, wage obligations and security demands.
The President also announced a sweeping overhaul of Nigeria’s national security architecture, including the introduction of a new counter-terrorism doctrine built around unified command, improved intelligence coordination and community-based stability efforts.
In a significant policy shift, Tinubu declared that all armed groups operating outside state authority such as bandits, militias, kidnappers, violent cults and criminal gangs would now be officially classified as terrorists. He added that their financiers, informants and political or community collaborators would face the same designation.
According to the President, the tougher classification is aimed at closing long-standing legal and operational loopholes that have allowed violent groups to flourish.
“We will invest in security with clear accountability for outcomes, because security spending must deliver real security results,” Tinubu said.
Beyond security, the 2026 budget proposal allocates ₦3.56 trillion to infrastructure, ₦3.52 trillion to education and ₦2.48 trillion to the health sector.
While acknowledging the strain on public finances, Tinubu maintained that prioritising security was unavoidable, linking it directly to broader development goals.
“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.
The President urged lawmakers to support the budget proposal, describing it as a critical step toward consolidating recent economic gains and restoring public confidence in the government’s ability to protect lives and property.
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