From Mika’il Tsoho
President Bola Tinubu presented over N58.18 trillion 2026 budget to a joint session of National Assembly.
Tinubu who presented the budget on Friday, also declared that all armed groups operating outside state authority would henceforth be treated as terrorists, as he vowed tougher security action, stricter budget discipline and deeper economic reforms.
The budget which was tagged as “Budget of Consolidation, Renewed Resilience and Shared Prosperity”, the proposal seeks to lock in recent macroeconomic gains, restore investor confidence and translate recovery into jobs and improved living standards for Nigerians.
President Tinubu, who began his speech at 3.31 pm and was still reading as of 4.02 pm, said, “I appear before this Joint Session of the National Assembly, in fulfilment of my constitutional duty, to present the 2026 Appropriation Bill.”
President Tinubu described the moment as “defining” in Nigeria’s reform journey. He acknowledged the pains of reforms over the last two and a half years but assured citizens that “their sacrifices are not in vain.”
He said Nigeria’s economy was showing clear signs of stabilisation, citing 3.98 per cent GDP growth in Q3 2025, moderation in inflation for eight consecutive months to 14.45 per cent in November 2025, improved oil production, stronger non-oil revenues and rising investor confidence.
External reserves, he disclosed, climbed to a seven-year high of about $47 billion as of mid-November 2025, providing over 10 months of import cover.
“These outcomes are not accidental. They reflect difficult but deliberate policy choices,” Tinubu said, adding that the task ahead was to ensure that “stability becomes prosperity, and prosperity becomes shared prosperity.
