Defence gets lion’s share in 2026 budget with N464bn

From Isaac Anumihe, Abuja

In view of the insecurity in the country, the Federal Government has earmarked a whopping N464,474,756,894 for the Ministry of Defence, whereas the total expenditure for the Presidency in the 2026 budget is N100,549,795,95.

Other ministries with similar substantial allocations include: Foreign Affairs, N56,135,718,476; Information and National Orientation, N22,672,347,769; Art, Culture and Creative Economy, N28,231,308,128; Tourism, N3,712,551,109; Interior, N34,670,127,337; Head of Service, N9,771,406,129; Auditor General, N4,854,988,681; Police Affairs, N60,913,608,670; and Communications, Innovations and Digital Economy, N20,652,484,684.

Others are: National Security Adviser, N286,904,549,354; Infrastructure Concessions and Regulatory Adviser, N748,400,892; and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, N113,526,967,302.

The Ministry of Works received N367,902,737,115, with total loan‑funded projects hitting over N2,048,915,491,962. Also, the total multilateral/bilateral loan‑funded projects on social housing is N2,048,915,491,962.

Due to the irregular supply of electricity, the Federal Government allocated N7,000,000,000 for the solarisation of the State House. The provision of an Electronic Document Management System (EDMS) will cost the Villa N35,179,969, while the government equally budgeted N51,261,926 for the replacement of Villa telecommunications infrastructure.

Similarly, the government mapped out N26,912,511 for the procurement and installation of auditing software tools (audit management solution), hardware and software inclusive of training.

The government in the 2026 budget also intends to purchase premium motor spirit (PMS) and engine control module (ECM) equipment and accessories with the sum of N256,309,629.

While the upgrade of the State House Library will cost N9,028,123, digital medical references for the State House will cost N3,219,762.

The government also plans to purchase plant nursery equipment for the production of local flowers for routine floral arrangement, irrigation, and upgrade of the helipad grass field at the cost of N26,912,671.