President Bola Tinubu has vowed that his administration will show no mercy to terrorists, bandits, kidnappers, and their sponsors.
He also declared a renewed offensive against violent crime as part of a sweeping reset of the country’s security architecture.
Tinubu made the pledge while presenting the N58.18tn 2026 Appropriation Bill to a joint session of the National Assembly on Friday.
Hours earlier, the Federal Executive Council approved the budget framework at an emergency meeting presided over for the first time by Vice President Kashim Shettima.
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The proposed budget is titled, ‘Budget of Consolidation, Renewed Resilience and Shared Prosperity’.
The President earmarked N5.41tn for Defence and Security, the single largest allocation in the proposed budget.
This marks the third consecutive year that defence and security spending has taken priority since the administration began presenting national budgets in November 2023.
Tinubu said the defence budget reflected his government’s resolve to make security the foundation of national development.
He pledged that security spending under his administration would be tied to accountability and measurable outcomes, with a focus on boosting the operational capacity of the armed forces and other security agencies through modern equipment and hardware.
The President vowed to deal with terrorists and their sponsors, reiterating that his administration would show no mercy to those involved in terrorism, banditry, kidnapping for ransom, and other violent crimes.
“We will show no mercy. We will usher in a new era of criminal justice. We will act firmly against those who commit or support acts of terrorism, banditry, kidnapping for ransom, and other violent crimes,” Tinubu said.
He further disclosed that his administration was resetting the country’s national security architecture and introducing a new counter-terrorism doctrine.
The approach, he explained, was built on unified command, intelligence gathering, community stability, and counter-insurgency operations.
Under the new doctrine, all armed groups or gun-wielding non-state actors operating outside state authority will be classified as terrorists.
Bandits, militias, armed gangs, violent cults, forest-based armed groups, and foreign-linked criminal networks will be treated as legitimate targets of security operations.
“Our administration is resetting the national security architecture and establishing a new national counter-terrorism doctrine. This holistic redesign is anchored on unified command, intelligence gathering, community stability, and counter-insurgency. Under this new architecture, any armed group or gun-wielding non-state actors operating outside the state’s authority will be regarded as terrorists. Bandits, militias, armed gangs, violent cults, forest-based armed groups, and foreign-linked networks will all be targeted. We will pursue all those who perpetrate violence for political or sectarian ends, along with those who finance and facilitate their schemes,” the President said.
He also vowed that the government would go after individuals and networks that finance or facilitate violence for political or sectarian purposes, insisting that the new doctrine would fundamentally transform how Nigeria confronts terrorism and violent crime.
Budget breakdown
Giving a sectoral breakdown of the proposed budget, the President said, “Defence and Security will take N5.41tn; Infrastructure will follow with N3.56tn; Education will receive N3.52tn; Health and Social Services will be N2.48tn. These priorities are interlinked. Without security, investments will not thrive. Without education and healthy citizens, productivity will not rise. Without infrastructure, jobs and enterprises will not scale.”
Tinubu said the 2026 fiscal plan was designed to promote discipline, realism, and sustainable growth.
“We will spend with purpose, manage debt responsibly, and pursue broad-based sustainable growth. The 2026 budget is anchored on realism, prudence, and growth,” he said.
He disclosed that total revenue for 2026 was projected at N34.33tn, while total expenditure stood at N58.18tn.
The President earmarked N15.52tn for debt servicing, with recurrent non-debt expenditure at N15.2 trillion, and capital expenditure at N26.08tn.
The budget deficit is estimated at N23.85tn, representing 4.28 per cent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product.
“Our projections are based on a conservative crude oil benchmark of $64.85 per barrel, crude oil production of 1.8m barrels per day, and an average exchange rate of N1,400 to the US dollar for the 2026 fiscal year,” Tinubu said.
Vows to end multiple budgets
The President also declared an end to Nigeria’s long-standing practice of overlapping budgets and poorly funded capital projects, vowing that his administration would operate a single, disciplined budget cycle from 2026.
This followed his earlier request to the National Assembly for approval to extend the implementation period of the 2025 Appropriation Act to March 31, 2026.
The request was conveyed in a letter dated December 18, read at a special plenary of the House of Representatives by Speaker Tajudeen Abbas.
Tinubu also requested legislative approval to consolidate the capital components of the 2024 and 2025 budgets.
According to the President, the request is part of broader fiscal reform measures designed to eliminate the challenge of running multiple budgets concurrently, a practice that has historically undermined planning, execution, and accountability.
“Let me be upfront with you, this is a reset, a very hard one. Avoiding abandoned projects, unpaid contractual obligations, and running multiple budgets on one inflow is a problem staring the nation. By March 3, 2026, all capital liabilities from previous years will be fully funded and closed. From April, Nigeria will operate on a single budget backed by a single revenue circle. No overlaps, no excuses, no rollovers,” Tinubu said.
Assures economic stability
The President acknowledged the economic hardship Nigerians had endured since the commencement of his administration’s reforms, insisting that the measures were necessary to stabilise the economy and secure long-term prosperity.
“Though the path of reform is seldom smooth, it is the surest route to lasting stability and shared prosperity. Today, I present a budget that consolidates our gains, strengthens our resilience, and takes this country from survival to growth. It reflects our determination to lock in microeconomic stability, deepen competitiveness, and ensure growth translates into jobs, rising incomes, and a better quality of life for all Nigerians,” he said.
In his address, the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, called for greater collaboration between the National Assembly and the Executive, emphasising that national progress depended on partnership, not rivalry.
“Many in our country view the collaborative work between the National Assembly and the Executive as a sellout, but history shows nations advance when the legislature and executive work in concert and falter when they are locked in hostility. It is within this spirit of constitutional partnership, not rivalry, that great national decisions, like budgeting, gain meaning and momentum,” he said.
Speaker Tajudeen Abbas added that the proposed budget would restore economic stability.
“The message of this budget is clear: stability has been restored, confidence rebuilt, fiscal order strengthened, and the foundation for shared prosperity firmly in place,” he said.
(Source: Punch with modified headline)
