SECURITY will gulp N5.41 trillion of the N58.18 trillion 2026 budget proposal submitted before the National Assembly on Friday, December 19.
The amount is more than the allocations for education, infrastructure and health.
Tinubu told the lawmakers that national security remained the foundation of economic growth, investment and social stability, adding that without security, other sectors of the economy would struggle to thrive.
In the proposal, defence and security will receive N5.41trillion, ahead of N3.56 trillion for infrastructure, N3.52 trillion for education, and N2.48trillion for health. This is a pattern that has been established in Nigeria’s annual budgets since the nation began to face security threats.
Earlier, the Federal Executive Council had approved the 2026 budget framework at an emergency meeting presided over by Vice President Kashim Shettima.
The council pegged total expenditure at N58.47 trillion, with heavy spending pressures from debt service, wages and security obligations.
Breaking down the budget proposal, Tinubu said the security vote would be deployed to modernise the armed forces, strengthen intelligence-driven policing, enhance border surveillance and support joint operations among security agencies.
“We will invest in security with clear accountability for outcomes because security spending must deliver security results,” he said.
He also announced a major reset of Nigeria’s national security architecture, including the establishment of a new national counter-terrorism doctrine anchored on unified command, intelligence coordination and community stability.
Under the proposed framework, the president declared that all armed groups operating outside state authority – including bandits, militias, kidnappers, armed gangs and violent cult groups – would henceforth be classified as terrorists, along with their financiers, informants and political or community enablers.
He argued that the tougher classification was necessary to close legal and operational gaps that had allowed violent groups to thrive for years.
The president acknowledged the pressure on public finances but insisted that prioritising security was unavoidable.
“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, linking the heavy security allocation to broader development goals.
Tinubu urged lawmakers to support the proposal, arguing that the budget was designed to consolidate recent economic gains while restoring public confidence in the state’s ability to protect lives and property.
No more budget rolling over, Tinubu says
Tinubu stated that there would no longer be rolling over of budgets from March 2026.
The president acknowledged that operating multiple budgets in a single year is a problem and pledged that his administration would terminate the operation of multiple budgets.
He assured that all existing budgets running concurrently would be concluded by March 2026.
Present at the budget presentation are the vice president; Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila; Secretary General of the Federation, George Akume; state governors, among others.
Harrison Edeh is a journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting, always determined to drive advocacy for good governance through holding public officials and businesses accountable.