President Bola Tinubu has proposed a massive N5.41 trillion allocation for defence and security in the 2026 federal budget, making it the single largest sectoral allocation in the spending plan.
The President made this known on Friday while presenting the N58.18 trillion 2026 Appropriation Bill to a joint session of the National Assembly. He said security remains the bedrock of economic growth, investment and social stability, stressing that no meaningful development can occur without peace and safety.
The proposed allocation marks the third consecutive year that security spending has topped the budget since Tinubu’s administration began presenting national budgets in November 2023. In the 2024 and 2025 budgets, defence and security also received the highest funding amid ongoing challenges such as terrorism, banditry and kidnapping.
“Security remains the foundation of development,” Tinubu told lawmakers, noting that other sectors would struggle to perform without a stable environment.
Earlier on Friday, the Federal Executive Council approved the 2026 budget framework at an emergency meeting presided over by Vice President Kashim Shettima. Total expenditure was pegged at N58.47 trillion, driven largely by rising costs from debt servicing, wages and security needs.
According to the President, the N5.41 trillion security vote will be used to modernise the armed forces, strengthen intelligence-led policing, improve 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.
Tinubu also announced a major overhaul of Nigeria’s national security architecture, including a new counter-terrorism doctrine based on unified command, better intelligence coordination and community stability.
Under the proposed framework, all armed groups operating outside state authority — including bandits, kidnappers, militias, armed gangs and violent cult groups — as well as their financiers and enablers, will now be classified as terrorists. The President said the move was aimed at closing legal and operational gaps that have allowed violent groups to thrive.
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Beyond security, the 2026 budget proposes N3.56 trillion for infrastructure, N3.52 trillion for education and N2.48 trillion for health.
While acknowledging the pressure on public finances, Tinubu insisted that prioritising security was unavoidable, linking it directly to Nigeria’s broader development goals.
He urged lawmakers to support the budget, saying it was designed to consolidate recent economic gains and rebuild public confidence in the government’s ability to protect lives and property.
