The Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) has called for transparency and accountability in Nigeria’s legislative process following allegations that the versions of the recently passed Tax Reform Acts published in the official Gazette differ significantly from those debated and approved by the National Assembly.

In a statement issued to newsmen, CITAD’s Executive Director, Malam YZ Ya’u, expressed concern over what he described as credible allegations of material changes to the tax laws. The issue was first raised on December 17, 2025, during plenary at the House of Representatives, when Honourable Abdulsamad Dasuki alleged a breach of legislative privilege. He claimed that key provisions of the tax bills passed by both chambers were altered before publication.

CITAD warned that such discrepancies raise serious constitutional, legal, and democratic questions. Under Nigeria’s Constitution, the power to make laws resides exclusively with the National Assembly. Any alteration of an Act outside the constitutionally prescribed legislative process, the group noted, amounts to an unlawful intrusion into legislative authority and a violation of the doctrine of separation of powers.

Preliminary reviews of the gazetted tax laws suggest that the alleged changes are substantive rather than editorial. Reported areas of concern include:
– Tax computation provisions
– Appeal procedures
– Enforcement powers

According to CITAD, some of these changes appear to expand the authority of tax agencies while weakening judicial oversight and taxpayer protections. If verified, the group warned, such alterations could undermine due process and erode public trust in the tax reform agenda.

While acknowledging the House of Representatives’ decision to set up an ad-hoc committee to investigate the allegations, CITAD insisted that the matter requires an open, transparent, and time-bound process. The group outlined three key demands:

1. Immediate publication of the Votes and Proceedings, including Hansard records of the National Assembly on the Tax Reform Bills, alongside the gazetted versions of the Acts.
2. A thorough, independent investigation to establish what occurred, including who authorised the alleged alterations, when they were made, and under what authority.
3. Suspension of implementation of the Tax Reform Acts, including the proposed commencement date of January 1, 2026, pending the outcome of the investigation.

Call for Integrity in Governance
CITAD stressed that its position is not opposition to tax reform. Nigeria, it said, needs a fair, efficient, and modern tax system. However, reforms cannot be sustained if they are perceived to rest on unconstitutional processes or opaque practices.

“Safeguarding the integrity of the legislative process is fundamental to democracy, the rule of law, and public trust,” the statement read. CITAD urged the National Assembly to act decisively to defend its constitutional mandate and ensure full accountability in the matter.

By Yusuf Danjuma Yunusa

President Bola Tinubu on Friday presented the 2026 Appropriation Bill to a Joint Session of the National Assembly in Abuja, describing it as a critical step in consolidating recent economic reforms and steering Nigeria toward stability and inclusive growth.

The budget, titled “Budget of Consolidation, Renewed Resilience and Shared Prosperity,” was delivered in fulfilment of the President’s constitutional responsibility.

Addressing lawmakers, Tinubu said the 2026 Budget builds on two and a half years of reforms aimed at stabilising the economy, restoring confidence and laying the foundation for a more resilient and competitive nation.

He acknowledged the pressures the reform process has placed on households and businesses, assuring Nigerians that the sacrifices made were necessary for long-term stability and shared prosperity.

According to the President, the 2026 fiscal framework is designed to consolidate macroeconomic gains, strengthen resilience against shocks and ensure that growth translates into jobs, rising incomes and improved living standards.

He said the budget reflects the administration’s determination to move the country from “survival to growth” while deepening fiscal discipline, improving revenue performance and delivering measurable outcomes for citizens.

Read Full Speech Below:

Distinguished Senate President,
Rt. Honourable Speaker and Honourable Members of the House of Representatives,
Distinguished Senators and Honourable Members of the National Assembly,
Fellow Nigerians,

1. I appear before this Joint Session of the National Assembly, in fulfilment of my constitutional duty, to present the 2026 Appropriation Bill of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

2. This is a defining moment in our national journey of reform and transformation. Over the last two and a half years, we made a deliberate choice: to confront long‑standing structural weaknesses, stabilise our economy, rebuild confidence, and lay a durable foundation for a more resilient, inclusive, and dynamic Nigeria.

3. These reforms were necessary — and they have not been painless. Families and businesses have faced pressure; established systems have been disrupted; and budget execution has been tested. I acknowledge these difficulties plainly, and I assure Nigerians that their sacrifices are not in vain. The path of reform is seldom smooth, but it is the surest route to lasting stability and shared prosperity.

4. Today, we come with a Budget that consolidates our gains, strengthens our resilience, and turns recovery into improved living standards for every Nigerian household.

THEME OF THE 2026 BUDGET

5. The 2026 Budget is themed: “Budget of Consolidation, Renewed Resilience and Shared Prosperity”. It reflects our determination to lock in macroeconomic stability, deepen competitiveness, and ensure that growth translates into decent jobs, rising incomes, and a better quality of life across our Federation.

ECONOMIC REALITIES: SIGNS OF STABILISATION, PURPOSE OF THE NEXT STEP

6. Mr. Chairman of this Joint Sitting, the 2026 Budget was prepared against an improving global outlook. Yet, our focus remains Nigeria: building a strong economy that works for our people.

7. I am encouraged that our reform efforts are already yielding measurable results:
Our economy grew by 3.98% in Q3 2025, higher than the 3.86% recorded in Q3 2024.
Inflation has moderated for eight consecutive months, with headline inflation declining to 14.45% in November 2025, from 24.23% in March 2025. With stabilising food and energy prices, tighter monetary conditions, and improving supply responses, we expect the disinflationary trend to persist—so that inflation continues to decline further over the 2026 horizon, barring major supply shocks.
Oil production has improved, supported by enhanced security, technology deployment, and sector reforms.
Non‑oil revenues have expanded significantly through better tax administration —not excessive taxation.
Investor confidence is returning, reflected in capital inflows, renewed project financing, and stronger private‑sector participation.
Our external reserves rose to a 7‑year high of about US$47 billion as at 14 November 2025, providing more than 10 months of import cover and a stronger buffer against shocks.

8. These outcomes are not accidental. They reflect difficult but deliberate policy choices. Our task now is to consolidate these gains—so that stability becomes prosperity, and prosperity becomes shared prosperity.

2025 BUDGET PERFORMANCE: LESSONS, ACCOUNTABILITY, AND EXECUTION

9. Distinguished Members, our 2025 budget implementation faced the realities of transition and competing execution demands. As at Q3 2025, we recorded:
₦18.6 trillion in revenue—representing 61% of our target; and
₦24.66 trillion in expenditure—representing 60% of our target.

10. Following the extension of the 2024 capital budget execution to December 2025, a total of ₦2.23 trillion was released for the implementation of 2024 capital projects as at June 2025.

11. While fiscal challenges persisted, government met its key obligations. However, only ₦3.10 trillion—about 17.7% of the 2025 capital budget—was released as at Q3, reflecting the emphasis on completing priority 2024 capital projects during the transition period.

12. Let me be clear: 2026 will be a year of stronger discipline in budget execution. I have issued directives to the Honourable Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, the Honourable Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, the Accountant‑General of the Federation, and the Director‑General of the Budget Office of the Federation to ensure that the 2026 Budget is implemented strictly in line with the appropriated details and timelines.

13. We expect improved revenue performance through the new National Tax Acts and the ongoing reforms in the oil and gas sector—reforms designed not merely to raise revenue, but to drive transparency, efficiency, fairness, and long‑term value in our fiscal architecture.

14. I will also be unequivocal about Government‑Owned Enterprises. Heads of all GOEs are hereby directed to meet their assigned revenue targets. To support this, we will deploy end‑to‑end digitisation of revenue mobilisation—standardised e‑collections, interoperable payment rails, automated reconciliation, data‑driven risk profiling, and real‑time performance dashboards—so leakages are sealed, compliance is verifiable, and remittances are prompt. These targets will form core components of performance evaluations and institutional scorecards. Nigeria can no longer afford leakages, inefficiencies, or underperformance in strategic agencies. Every institution must play its part.

PHILOSOPHY AND OBJECTIVES OF THE 2026 BUDGET

15. Mr. Chairman and fellow Nigerians, the 2026 Budget is guided by four clear objectives:
One, consolidate macroeconomic stability;
Two, improve the business and investment environment;
Three, promote job‑rich growth and reduce poverty; and
Four, strengthen human capital while protecting the vulnerable.
16. In short: we will spend with purpose, manage debt with discipline, and pursue growth that is broad‑based — not narrow — and sustainable — not temporary.

2026 BUDGET OVERVIEW: THE FISCAL FRAMEWORK

17. Distinguished Members, the 2026 Federal Budget is anchored on realism, prudence, and growth orientation.
18. The key aggregates are as follows:
Expected total revenue: ₦34.33 trillion.
Projected total expenditure: ₦58.18 trillion, including ₦15.52 trillion for debt servicing.
Recurrent (non‑debt) expenditure: ₦15.25 trillion.
Capital expenditure: ₦26.08 trillion.
Budget deficit: ₦23.85 trillion, representing 4.28% of GDP.

19. 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.

20. The 2026–2028 Medium‑Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper sets the parameters for this Budget. Our projections are based on:
a conservative crude oil benchmark of US$64.85 per barrel;
crude oil production of 1.84 million barrels per day; and
an exchange rate of ₦1,400 to the US Dollar for the 2026 fiscal year.

21. We will continue to reduce waste, strengthen controls, and ensure that every naira borrowed or spent delivers measurable public value — especially in infrastructure, human capital, and security.

PRIORITIES AND ALLOCATIONS: SECURITY, PEOPLE, PRODUCTIVITY

22. Our allocations reflect the Renewed Hope Agenda and the practical needs of Nigerians. Key sectoral provisions include:
Defence and Security: ₦5.41 trillion
Infrastructure: ₦3.56 trillion
Education: ₦3.52 trillion
Health: ₦2.48 trillion

23. These priorities are interlinked. Without security, investment will not thrive. Without educated and healthy citizens, productivity will not rise. Without infrastructure, jobs and enterprise will not scale. This is why the Budget is designed as one coherent programme of national renewal.
A. National Security and Peacebuilding

24. Security remains the foundation of development. The 2026 Budget strengthens support for:
modernisation of the Armed Forces;
intelligence‑driven policing and joint operations;
border security and technology‑enabled surveillance; and
community‑based peacebuilding and conflict prevention.

25. We will invest in security with clear accountability for outcomes—because security spending must deliver security results. To secure our country, our priority will remain on increasing the fighting capability of our armed forces and other security agencies by boosting personnel and procuring cutting-edge platforms and other hardware. We are also pursuing a new era of criminal justice system to stamp out terrorism, banditry, kidnapping for ransom and other violent crimes. Our administration is resetting the national security architecture and establishing a new national counterterrorism doctrine—a holistic redesign anchored on unified command, intelligence, community stability, and counter-insurgency. 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.

B. Human Capital Development: Education and Health

26. No nation can grow beyond the quality of its people. The 2026 Budget strengthens investments in education, skills, healthcare, and social protection.

27. In education, we are expanding access to higher education through the Nigerian Education Loan Fund. Over 418,000 students have been supported, in partnership with 229 tertiary institutions nationwide.

28. In healthcare, I am pleased to highlight that investment in healthcare is 6% of total budget size, net of liabilities.

29. We also appreciate the support of international partners. Recent high‑level engagements with the Government of the United States have opened the door to over US$500 million in grant funding for targeted health interventions across Nigeria. We welcome this partnership and assure Nigerians that these resources will be deployed transparently and effectively.

C. Infrastructure and Economic Productivity

30. Across the nation, projects under the Renewed Hope Agenda are moving from vision to reality—transport and energy infrastructure, port modernisation, agricultural reforms, and strategic investments that unlock private capital.

31. We will take decisive steps to strengthen agricultural markets. Food security is national security. The 2026 Budget prioritises input financing and mechanisation; irrigation and climate‑resilient agriculture; storage and processing; and agro‑value chains.

32. These measures will reduce post‑harvest losses, improve incomes for smallholders, deepen agro‑industrialisation, and build a more resilient, diversified economy.

DELIVERY, DISCIPLINE, AND NATIONAL COMPACT

33. Distinguished Members and fellow Nigerians, the greatest budget is not the one we announce. It is the one we deliver.

34. Therefore, 2026 will be guided by three practical commitments:
Better revenue mobilisation through efficiency, transparency, and compliance—especially from GOEs and improved oil and gas sector governance.
Better spending: prioritising projects that can be completed, measured, and felt by citizens.
Better accountability: strengthening procurement discipline, monitoring, and reporting—so Nigerians can see what their money is funding.
35. This is how we will build trust: by matching our words with results, and our allocations with outcomes.

CONCLUSION: A BUDGET THAT BELONGS TO ALL OF US

36. Distinguished Members of the National Assembly, fellow Nigerians, the 2026 Budget is not a budget of promises; it is a Budget of Consolidation, Renewed Resilience and Shared Prosperity. It builds on the reforms of the past two and a half years, addresses emerging challenges, and sets a clear path towards a more secure, more competitive, more equitable, and more hopeful Nigeria.

37. I commend the understanding, sacrifice, and resilience of our people. My administration remains committed to easing the burdens of transition and ensuring that the benefits of reform reach households and communities across the Federation.

38. With unity of purpose between the Executive and the Legislature—and with the resilience of the Nigerian people—we will deliver the full promise of the Renewed Hope Agenda.

39. It is with great pleasure, therefore, that I lay before this distinguished Joint Session of the National Assembly the 2026 Appropriation Bill of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, titled: “Budget of Consolidation, Renewed Resilience and Shared Prosperity”.

May God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Thank you.

By Yusuf Danjuma Yunusa

President Bola Tinubu has issued a direct instruction to state governors to ensure immediate compliance with the Supreme Court ruling on Local Government Area (LGA) financial autonomy.

The directive mandates the direct payment of statutory allocations to LGAs, circumventing state government controls.

Speaking Thursday night at the 14th National Caucus meeting of the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the State House, President Tinubu emphasized that genuine autonomy is contingent upon financial independence.

The president said LG autonomy cannot exist without financial independence, insisting that councils must receive their allocations without interference.

“There is no autonomy without a funded mandate,” Tinubu said.

“We will give them their money directly, that is the truth, that is compliance with the Supreme Court, take leadership seriously.”

He urged governors and party leaders to embrace reconciliation, flexibility and grassroots engagement, noting that leadership must go beyond state capitals to rural communities.

Tinubu also said he had assured the United States and the European Union of Nigeria’s commitment to establishing state police as part of efforts to address insecurity.

“I had a very long discussion with the US and European heads,” Tinubu said.

“I told them confidently that we will pass state police to improve security, I have a party that will make it happen.”

The president commiserated with the government and people of Bayelsa state over the death of the deputy governor and prayed for the repose of his soul.

Tinubu also called for increased female representation within the APC caucus.

Speaking earlier, Nentawe Yilwatda, national chairman of the APC, said the party was witnessing growing national acceptance, citing high-profile defections and recent electoral victories.

Yilwatda said the party’s electronic membership registration exercise would run through January, with January 30 set as the deadline for members to be registered ahead of party congresses.

He said the APC, with the support of Tinubu, has secured land in Abuja’s Central Business District for a new national secretariat, adding that architectural designs were already underway.

The APC chairman said the party now enjoys an overwhelming majority in both chambers of the national assembly, attributing the development to Tinubu’s leadership and recent defections.

Yilwatda listed governors who have joined the APC from opposition parties and said the trend reflects the party’s pan-Nigerian character.

He also briefed caucus members on ongoing constitutional amendment efforts, preparations for the FCT area council elections scheduled for February 21, 2026, and recent victories in by-elections.

In attendance of the national caucus meeting were President Tinubu, Kashim Shettima, vice-president, APC governors, members of the national working committee, leaders of the national assembly, and recently defected governors.