Nigeria’s Record N68.32 Trillion 2026 Budget Sparks Concern Over Skewed Priorities

Nigeria’s largest-ever federal budget of ₦68.32 trillion, signed into law by President Bola Tinubu in April, has come under sharp scrutiny from civic-tech organisation BudgIT for being “ambitious but unviable” amid heavy reliance on borrowing and persistent underfunding of critical human capital sectors.

In a press statement released on Monday, BudgIT highlighted a stark misalignment in sectoral allocations. While security receives ₦6.98 trillion (approximately 10.2% of the total budget), health accounts for just 5.2%, far below the 15% benchmark set by the 2001 Abuja Declaration.

Education receives approximately 4%, well below global standards for investment in human capital development.

The Total expenditure is N68.32 trillion (the largest in Nigeria’s history), with Projected revenue at N36.87 trillion, while Fiscal deficit is N31.45 trillion (46.1% of the budget financed through debt) and Capital expenditure N32.28 trillion (47.13%) and debt servicing N15.8 trillion (nearly 45% of projected revenue and about 23% of total expenditure).

BudgIT notes that only 53.9% of the budget can be funded from actual revenues, with the remainder dependent on loans and borrowings.

This structure, the organisation argues, entrenches structural fiscal imbalances and leaves limited fiscal space for high-impact investments.

The disparity in allocations carries direct consequences, according to BudgIT, Health (5.2%): Nigeria’s health system remains heavily reliant on out-of-pocket spending by citizens. The allocation falls significantly short of the Abuja Declaration target, which African leaders pledged in 2001 to allocate at least 15% of national budgets to health.

Education (~4%): With over 18 million out-of-school children, the sector’s share is described as “well below global standards.”

This underinvestment risks worsening educational outcomes and long-term economic productivity.

In contrast, security’s substantial share reflects ongoing challenges with insurgency, banditry, and other threats, a priority the government has consistently emphasised.

However, BudgIT warns that without balanced investment in people, Nigeria risks exacerbating social vulnerabilities.

BudgIT’s Head of Research and Policy Advisory, Engr. Adejoke Akinbode, stated that the 2026 budget reflects a government attempting to balance growth ambitions with fiscal realities but constrained by structural inefficiencies.

She noted concerns that the budget may bear characteristics of a politically motivated, pre-election spending framework focused on short-term visibility rather than long-term national value.

The organisation calls for zero tolerance for extra-budgetary and off-book expenditures, strict prioritisation of limited resources toward high-impact, economically catalytic projects, greater emphasis on revenue realism, expenditure discipline, sound debt management, and institutional credibility.

“These gaps have direct consequences,” BudgIT emphasises in its statement.

The ₦68.32 trillion figure represents a significant upward revision from the initial presidential proposal of around ₦58 trillion.

While capital spending constitutes nearly half the budget signaling intent for infrastructure and development, debt obligations continue to crowd out other priorities.

Nigeria’s population of over 200 million, combined with challenges in healthcare access, educational quality, and economic diversification, makes the underfunding of health and education particularly consequential, analysts and civil society groups have long argued.

As implementation of the 2026 budget begins, attention will turn to whether allocations translate into tangible improvements in service delivery or whether the ambitious numbers remain constrained by the very fiscal realities BudgIT has flagged.