The Senate on Monday reiterated that borrowing remains inevitable to fund Nigeria’s 2026 budget, which proposes total expenditure of N58.47 trillion against projected revenue of N33.19 trillion, leaving a deficit of about N25.91 trillion.
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, Senator Solomon Adeola, said the government cannot realistically meet infrastructure, security, and social obligations without deficit financing.
He stressed, however, that the era of wasteful, consumption-driven borrowing must end.
“Nigeria cannot help but continue borrowing because revenue inflows are unpredictable and development needs are enormous.
What matters is how we borrow, how deficits are funded, and how borrowed resources are utilised,” Adeola said.
Debt servicing alone is expected to consume N15.90 trillion.
To avoid crowding out private-sector credit, the federal government intends to rely on external financing, asset optimisation, privatisation, public-private partnerships (PPPs) and infrastructure concessioning.
Adeola also called for full removal of electricity subsidies, warning that partial reforms would continue to drain public finances.
He reaffirmed that the National Assembly will no longer approve budget rollovers, citing repeated delays as a cause of poor budget outcomes.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio, represented by Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin, described the 2026 budget as a moral and historical test for the nation.
“A budget is a moral document. We must convert allocations into tangible outcomes that Nigerians can see and feel,” he said.
Minister of State for Finance, Dr. Doris Nkiruka Uzoka-Anite, highlighted that the 2026 budget aligns with government priorities and is designed to deploy limited national resources efficiently, while acknowledging public frustration over rising living costs.
Fiscal policy expert Dr. Olatilewa Adebajo warned that rising deficits could become unsustainable unless revenue mobilisation is strengthened and the Fiscal Responsibility Act strictly enforced.
Accountant-General Shamseldeen Olujimi emphasised shifting from allocation-driven budgeting to impact-focused implementation, measuring success by functioning schools, operational health centres, reliable power supply, and job creation.
Meanwhile, Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mrs. Jumoke Oduwole, raised concerns over her ministry’s N2.72 billion capital allocation for 2026, describing it as inadequate to drive Nigeria’s industrialisation, trade expansion, and investment attraction agenda.
She appealed for a targeted increase, noting that the ministry’s interventions had already attracted $21 billion in capital importation in the first 10 months of 2025, up from $12 billion in 2024 and under $4 billion in 2023.
Senators Umar Sadiq and Francis Fadahunsi stressed the ministry’s centrality to the administration’s goal of a $1 trillion economy and called for clear demonstration of its impact on jobs, exports, and industrial growth
