President Bola Tinubu has earmarked N5.41tn for Security, the single largest allocation in the proposed 2026 budget. It marked the third consecutive year that defence and security spending has taken priority since the administration began presenting national budgets in November 2023.
Tinubu disclosed this today while presenting the N58.18tn 2026 Appropriation Bill to a joint session of the National Assembly, where he said national security remained the foundation of economic growth, investment and social stability. Breaking down the 2026 proposal, Tinubu said the security vote would be deployed to modernise the armed forces, strengthen intelligence-driven policing, enhance border surveillance and support joint operations among security agencies.
He argued that the tougher classification was necessary to close legal and operational gaps that had allowed violent groups to thrive for years, but Beyond security, the 2026 budget also proposes N3.56tn for infrastructure, N3.52tn for education, and N2.48tn for health. Hoever, Tinubu acknowledged the pressure on public finances but insisted that prioritising security was unavoidable.
