Headlines
House Passes Massive ₦68.3 Trillion 2026 Budget, Greenlights $6 Billion in Loans
By Ifeyinwa Ike
The House of Representatives on Tuesday approved a whopping ₦68.3 trillion budget for 2026, surpassing President Bola Tinubu’s original ₦58.18 trillion proposal by over ₦10 trillion.
The Budget of Consolidation, Renewed Resilience, and Shared Prosperity presented in December 2025 passed after adopting the House Committee on Appropriation’s report at the Committee of Supply, co-chaired by Speaker Tajudeen Abbas and Deputy Benjamin Kalu.
It also extends 2025 capital projects to June 30.
Breakdown shows ₦4.8 trillion for statutory transfers, ₦15.8 trillion for debt servicing, ₦15.4 trillion for recurrent non-debt spending, and a hefty ₦32.3 trillion for capital projects.
Standout allocations include ₦1.01 trillion for INEC, ₦618 billion for NDDC, and regional development commissions getting ₦140-245 billion each. Capital highlights: Works (₦3.17tn), Agriculture (₦3.26tn), Defence (₦466bn), and Health (₦1.23tn)
In related moves, the House fast-tracked Tinubu’s loan requests of $5 billion Structured Total Return Swap with First Abu Dhabi Bank for liquidity and infrastructure backed by Naira securities (up to 133% collateral), with USD margin calls and tranche drawdowns.
$1 billion UKEF-covered facility via CitiBank London for rehabilitating Lagos Port Complex and Tin-Can Island.
Committee Chairman, Abubakar Nalaraba’s reports urged approval for budget support and debt optimisation.
The budget now heads to the Senate for harmonisation.
