Shettima defends N68.30trn 2026 budget, says bigger spending needed for growth

Vice President Kashim Shettima has defended the N68.30 trillion 2026 budget recently approved by both chambers of the National Assembly, insisting that Nigeria’s fiscal plans must be ambitious enough to drive development and improve citizens’ welfare.

The revised budget represents about a N10 trillion increase from the initial N58.18 trillion proposal earlier presented by President Bola Tinubu.

Speaking at a two-day National Policy Dialogue in Abuja on Tuesday, Shettima said national budgets should go beyond being merely people-focused and should be expanded to reflect the country’s broader development aspirations.

Represented by the Special Adviser to the President on Economic Matters, Tope Fasua, the Vice President said the upward review of the 2026 appropriation was informed by the administration’s vision for accelerated growth.

According to him, critics calling for a smaller budget must understand that budgeting is not about surrendering to past limitations, but about setting higher goals and challenging the nation to achieve stronger economic outcomes.

He said ongoing revenue reforms introduced by the Tinubu administration since January 2026 were already showing promise, with more institutions being brought under stricter fiscal controls to improve revenue capture and reduce leakages.

Shettima also noted that tariffs on key raw materials and essential goods had been reduced to ease the burden on citizens and support productive sectors of the economy.

He explained that current fiscal plans are being guided by the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework and the national development plans, which he described as essential tools for data-driven economic planning and sustainable growth.

Supporting the Vice President’s position, former Budget Office Director-General Ben Akabueze called for urgent reforms to strengthen the connection between budgeting and national planning.

Presenting a paper at the dialogue, Akabueze warned that weak implementation and poor alignment between budgets and development plans had contributed to the proliferation of more than 56,000 abandoned projects across the country.

He argued that Nigeria’s budget process remains hampered by the absence of a clear budget law, noting that vague constitutional provisions have often created friction between the executive and legislative arms of government.

Akabueze stressed the need to move from budgeting merely for expenditure to budgeting for measurable development outcomes, insisting that stronger legal and institutional frameworks are necessary to improve accountability and fiscal discipline.