President Bola Tinubu has unveiled a budget of ₦58.18 trillion for the 2026 fiscal year, with an assurance that the Federal Government will reset the national security architecture.
President Tinubu, while addressing a joint session of the National Assembly, said the new security architecture would change how the country confronts terrorism and other violent crimes. He noted that going forward, non-state actors, who wield lethal weapons and their enablers would be treated as terrorists.The President, who explained that ₦58.18 trillion estimate, consists ₦15.52 trillion for debt servicing; recurrent (non debt) expenditure, ₦15.25 trillion; and capital expenditure, ₦26.08 trillion, stated that ₦34.33 trillion is expected total revenue, with a budget deficit of ₦23.85 trillion, representing 4.28% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu
“These numbers are not just accounting lines. They are a statement of national priorities. We remain firmly committed to fiscal sustainability, debt transparency, and value for money spending,” he stated.This new doctrine will fundamentally change how we confront terrorism and other violent crimes that have become existential threats to our corporate survival and have heightened anxiety among our people.
“Henceforth, and under this new architecture, any armed group or gun-wielding non-state actors operating outside state authority will be regarded as terrorists. These include bandits, militias, armed gangs, criminal networks with weapons, armed robbers, violent cult groups, forest-based armed collectives, and foreign-linked mercenaries. Groups or individuals conducting violence for political, ethnic, financial, or sectarian objectives are also classified as terrorists.
“Members of any group extorting communities, kidnapping civilians, occupying or seeking to occupy territory within Nigeria will be classified as terrorists. The denominator is that if you wield lethal weapons and act outside the state’s authority, you are a terrorist.
“Any individual or entity that enables the listed groups as financiers, money handlers, harbourers, informants, ransom facilitators, and negotiators will also be classified as terrorists.
“Political protectors and intermediaries, transporters, arms suppliers, and safe-house owners will be declared as terrorists. Politicians, traditional rulers, community leaders, and religious leaders who facilitate and encourage violent actions and terror within Nigeria and against our citizens are also terrorists.”
The sun
