The House of Representatives on Thursday approved President Bola Tinubu’s N58.47 trillion 2026 Appropriation Bill for second reading.
The 2026 budget proposal, titled “Budget of Consolidation, Renewed Resilience, and Shared Prosperity,” scaled through plenary without any debate.
President Tinubu had presented the 2026 budget to a joint session of the National Assembly in December last year.
A breakdown of the proposal indicates that total expenditure is projected at between N58.18 trillion and N58.47 trillion. Statutory transfers are fixed at N4.09 trillion, while N15.91 trillion is allocated for debt servicing. Recurrent (non-debt) expenditure stands at N15.25 trillion.
Capital expenditure is estimated at between N23.21 trillion and N26.08 trillion, with a large portion of the funding expected to be released through the Development Fund.
On the revenue side, the budget targets N34.33 trillion, leaving a fiscal deficit of N23.85 trillion.
While presenting the general principles of the bill, the House Leader, Julius Ihonvbere, described the budget as an important step in Nigeria’s pursuit of peace, economic stability, growth, and sustainable development.
He said the Tinubu administration has sustained fiscal discipline, stressing that no new naira has been printed since the government assumed office, especially through the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Ways and Means facility.
“We have not printed a single naira since this government came into office. That fiscal discipline has helped to stabilize the economy,” Ihonvbere said.
After the second reading, Speaker of the House, Tajudeen Abbas, referred the appropriation bill to the House Committee on Appropriations for further legislative scrutiny.
