A presidency source has disclosed that the Federal Government increased the proposed 2026 budget from the ₦54.46 trillion projected in the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) to ₦58.18 trillion to accommodate large-scale recruitment into the military, police and other security agencies.
The source told Vanguard that the upward review followed President Bola Tinubu’s recent directive for massive personnel intake across security institutions to address Nigeria’s growing security challenges.
According to the source, budget submissions by Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) had already been concluded and forwarded to the Budget Office of the Federation before the president announced the recruitment exercise. This development, it was learnt, created additional financial obligations that were not captured in the original estimates.
“The budget had to be increased to absorb the cost implications of the new security intakes,” the source said.
The source explained that President Tinubu proceeded to present the revised budget proposal to the National Assembly to demonstrate commitment to early passage, noting that the budget process was already behind schedule.
“They have to work on the details and clean it up before the Bill returns to the National Assembly for continuation of MDAs’ budget defence and other legislative processes,” the source added.
The proposed ₦58.18 trillion aggregate expenditure represents a 6 per cent increase over the 2025 budget estimate of ₦49.7 trillion. It includes ₦4.98 trillion in projected spending by government-owned enterprises and ₦1.37 trillion allocated to grants and donor-funded projects.
Statutory transfers are pegged at ₦4.1 trillion, while debt servicing stands at ₦15.52 trillion, including ₦3.388 trillion for the sinking fund to retire maturing domestic obligations.
Personnel costs, including pensions, are estimated at ₦10.75 trillion—seven per cent higher than the 2025 provision—and include ₦1.02 trillion for government-owned enterprises. Overhead costs are projected at ₦2.22 trillion.
The source further disclosed that non-oil revenues now account for about two-thirds of total government receipts, reflecting a continued shift away from oil dependence.
With projected revenue of ₦34.33 trillion against total expenditure of ₦58.18 trillion, the 2026 budget deficit is estimated at ₦23.85 trillion, representing 4.28 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Recurrent (non-debt) expenditure is put at ₦15.25 trillion, while capital expenditure is estimated at ₦26.08 trillion.
Sectoral allocations show that security received the highest allocation of ₦5.41 trillion, followed by infrastructure with ₦3.56 trillion, education at ₦3.52 trillion, and health at ₦2.48 trillion.