2026 Budget: Lawmakers Approve N1.504trn for Army, Stress Oversight of MDA Allocations

The Nigerian Army’s proposed 2026 budget of N1.504,251,069,722 trillion was praised by a joint National Assembly committee on Monday.

The Nigerian Army was given assurances by the House Committee that it would make sure the approved funds were distributed through efficient oversight of the proper authorities for the budget’s implementation.

This was disclosed by Senator Abdulaziz Yar’Adua, the chairman of the Senate Committee on Army, following a joint budget defense of the Joint Committee in Abuja with Lt. Gen. Waidi Shaibu, the Chief of Army Staff.

“All members have expressed satisfaction with the presentation made by the Chief of Army Staff following our joint session of the Senate and House of Representatives Committees on Army on the 2026 budget,” he stated.

But every member of the joint committee also concurred that the main problem is the funding release delay, which has an impact on the other MDAs.

However, I want to reassure the Chief of Army Staff that we are dedicated to working with him to achieve our goals. We would help you with anything you need because the Army is so important to our country.

Speaking as well, Hon. Aminu Balele, the chairman of the House Committee on Army, praised the COAS and his officers and soldiers for their dedication to defending the country’s territorial integrity and fighting insurgency.

He pledged that his committee will keep working to ensure that monies are released on schedule so the Army may fulfill its constitutional obligations.

Balele promises that the committee would carry out its oversight role with the highest level of accountability.

“I want to express my gratitude to my Senate colleague, Senator Abdulaziz Yar’Adua, and his colleagues for working together on this national task as we wrap up the 2026 budget defense. I commend the Chief of Army Staff and his team for their dedication and patriotism.

“I want to thank Speaker Tajudeen Abbas for his steadfast support in my role as chairman of the House Committee on Army. We are prepared to push for the prompt release of funds so that you can fulfill your obligations, and we will keep pushing since we are aware of the problems that budgets can cause.

Additionally, Hajia Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, the Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, has asked for an increase in the N134.2 billion allocated to the Ministry for the fiscal year 2026.

This comes after the Senate’s Women Affairs committee expressed disapproval of the pitifully inadequate cash releases allocated to the Ministry’s overhead and capital expenditures in the 2025 budget.

During the budget defense session with the Senate Committee on Women Affairs on Monday, the Minister called for an upward assessment of the 2026 budget plan for the Women Affairs Ministry.

According to her, the upward assessment will assist the Ministry in putting programs into place that address the various issues that women face nationwide. An upward revision of budget projections for the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development should be carried out in accordance with the plan and the requirement for additional domestic appropriations in the fiscal year 2026,” she stated.

The Committee’s Chairman, Senator Ireti Kingibe (FCT), responded, however, that while the request was good, the executive branch should address the issue of inadequate funding releases first. While we do not oppose a review of the 2026 budget for your ministry, we do object to the issue of transparency. We have major concerns about the flows of monies, as demonstrated in your recent presentations on budget appropriation and releases for your ministry in 2025. “First, that issue needs to be resolved,” she stated.

The Minister had previously stated in her presentations on the 2025 budget’s performance and the 2026 predictions that just N394 million of the N89.8 billion allotted for capital expenditures had been released in December and had not even been used. Similarly, just N471 million of the N2.8 billion earmarked for our overhead in 2025 was disbursed, she said.

She went on to say that N134 2 billion was set aside for the ministry in 2026, of which N2.1 billion was allocated for personnel costs, N131.2 billion for capital, and N810.9 million for administrative costs.