Nigeria’s President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has formally requested the National Assembly to approve a ₦9 trillion upward revision of the 2026 federal budget, increasing the proposed spending plan from ₦58.4 trillion to ₦67.4 trillion. The request was conveyed in a letter read on the floor of the Senate by Senate President Godswill Akpabio during plenary in Abuja on Tuesday, March 31, 2026.
According to the President, the proposed adjustment aims to strengthen fiscal transparency and ensure the effective execution of priority national programmes. Tinubu outlined three core reasons behind the adjustment: regularising outstanding legal commitments carried over from previous budget cycles, capturing existing public debt obligations within the fiscal framework, and making provisions for a limited number of strategic priority projects while safeguarding macroeconomic stability and reducing pressure on financial markets.
The letter also recalled that in December 2025, Tinubu presented the original ₦58.18 trillion budget proposal for the 2026 fiscal year. That plan included an allocation of ₦5.41 trillion (about 9.3 per cent) for defence and security, revenue projections of ₦34.33 trillion, and a projected ₦23.85 trillion budget deficit — roughly 4.28 per cent of Nigeria’s GDP — based on what the administration described as realistic, prudent, and growth‑focused economic assumptions.
If approved by lawmakers, the revised budget will give the federal government greater fiscal space to address emerging obligations and implement core programmes while maintaining its stance on fiscal discipline.
