N’Assembly passes N68.3trn 2026 budget laden with questionable projects

THE National Assembly has approved a total budget of N68.3 trillion for the 2026 fiscal year, following deliberations by both chambers. However, this monumental budget is filled with irrelevant and questionable projects.

Lawmakers in the Senate and the House of Representatives passed the appropriation bill during plenary on Tuesday, concluding the legislative process on the spending plan.

President Bola Tinubu had initially presented a N58.47 trillion budget proposal to the National Assembly in December 2025. However, he later requested an upward adjustment of N9.81 trillion, which was submitted on Tuesday.

According to the president, the increase was necessary to enhance fiscal transparency and support the effective execution of key government programmes.

Tinubu explained that part of the adjustment would address outstanding capital commitments carried over from previous budgets, ensuring that unresolved obligations do not weigh on the 2026 fiscal plan.

READ ALSO: Senate signals possible reduction of N58.472tn 2026 budget over revenue concerns

He also proposed the consolidation of existing government debts from earlier fiscal cycles into the 2026 budget framework, noting that this would create room for limited but strategic investments in critical sectors such as transport, healthcare, and institutional capacity.

The president said the move became necessary as many of the pending obligations may not be executed before the expiration of the 2025 capital budget implementation period.

Further details of the proposal include N478.6 billion in federal government equity under the ministry of finance to support legacy light rail projects in Lagos and Kano, as well as feasibility studies for similar urban rail systems in Enugu and Maiduguri.

In addition, N8.6 billion was earmarked for feasibility studies on the Calabar–Maiduguri corridor and the Maiduguri–Sokoto superhighway, under the Renewed Hope National Beltway initiative.

Tinubu added that the budget adjustment is also aimed at maintaining macro-fiscal stability while reducing pressure on the domestic credit market.

Both chambers of the National Assembly reviewed and approved the president’s request separately before passing the appropriation bill for a third reading.

Earlier in December, the legislature had also passed the 2026–2028 medium-term expenditure framework (MTEF) and fiscal strategy paper (FSP), which set key fiscal assumptions for the period.

Under the framework, the House of Representatives adopted crude oil benchmark prices of $64.85, $64.3, and $65.5 per barrel for 2026, 2027, and 2028, respectively. However, the senate revised the 2026 benchmark downward to $60 per barrel.

Lawmakers retained projected oil production levels of 1.84 million barrels per day for 2026, 1.88 mbpd for 2027, and 1.92 mbpd for 2028.

They also approved exchange rate projections of N1,512 for 2026, N1,432.15 for 2027, and N1,383.18 for 2028.

READ ALSO: Analysis: Understanding Tinubu’s N58trn budget: Assumptions vs realities

Inflation is projected at 16.5 percent in 2026, easing to 13 percent in 2027 and 9 percent in 2028, while GDP growth is expected to reach 4.68 percent, 5.96 percent, and 7.9 percent over the three-year period.

Questionable projects

However, the budget is heavy on announcements but light on outcomes. For instance, the Ministry of Budget and National Planning included projects that are within the purview of Ministries of Health, Water Resources, Education and Power into its 2026 budget.

According to the 2026 spending plan seen by Economy Post, the Atiku Bagudu-led ministry will spend N105 million this year on the purchase and installation of 500 KVA transformers to selected places in Ibarapa Central/ Ibarapa North Federal Constituency, Oyo State.

The ministry is also spending another N105 million on the replacement and installation of power poles for Ibarapa Central/Ibarapa North Federal Constiteuncy in Oyo State. This, ordinarily, should have been the responsibility of the Ministry of Power.

The ministry will also spend N2.275 million on the supply and distribution of books for Okenalogho Secondary Technical School, Community Primary School Umuokeh and Progressive Primary School in Umusochie – all in Obowo Local Government Area of Imo State. This is the responsibility of the Ministry of Education.

Also, the Nigerian presidency, made up the President, the Vice President, President’s Chief of Staff and Chief Security Officer to the President, will spend nearly N4 billion on the purchase of new operational vehicles, but is yet to explain to Nigerians what happened to old cars at the Villa.

READ ALSO: Presidency budgets N4bn for vehicles, but keeps mute over what happens to old cars

Similarly, according to the 2026–2028 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) seen by Economy Post, the Nigerian government projected a total revenue of N34.33 trillion in 2026, out of which N15.91 trillion, which is about 46.34 percent, will go toward debt servicing.

This implies that almost half of the nation’s income in 2026 will be devoted to repaying loans and their interests, leaving little fiscal space for real development and critical investments such as purchase of security equipment, infrastructure development, among other vital areas.

Furthermore, the National Mathematical Centre (NMC), Nigeria’s apex institution for mathematical research and training, is financing the construction of a Sociology Department building at Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria – an initiative many say falls outside the agency’s core mandate.

According to the 2026 budget, the NMC is spending N210 million on the ‘New Department of Sociology A.B.U, Zaria, Kaduna State.’

In fact, several Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of the Nigerian government have budgeted millions of naira for ‘computers,’ which they have included each year in the last decade. Again, when Nigerians ask why their nation’s hospitals lack critical equipment, they find their answer in the annual budgets. In the 2026 budget, 31 teaching hospitals operated by the Federal Governmentwill spend an average of 64 percent of their budget on personnel costs.

This implies that only 36 percent of the budget will be spent on capital projects, where equipment falls into. 

“This is the story of Nigeria, and to think that this government has perpetuated it is shocking,” said an Abuja-based budget expert, Dr Moses Ubani. “It is a cycle. There is a template the MDAs have. They simply key in new budget items with variations in costs each year. We can’t get anywhere with this fraudulent practice.”