Nigeria will continue to borrow to plug its widening budget deficit, the 10th Senate has confirmed, amid mounting concerns that rising debt and weak revenue mobilisation could push the country toward fiscal distress.
At a public hearing on the 2026 Appropriation Bill in Abuja, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, Senator Solomon Adeola, disclosed that the proposed 2026 Budget projects total expenditure of ₦58.47 trillion against expected revenue of ₦33.19 trillion, leaving a deficit of ₦25.27 trillion. Debt servicing alone is estimated at ₦15.90 trillion.
Adeola said borrowing had become unavoidable due to unpredictable revenues and pressing development needs, stressing that the focus must now shift to responsible deficit management. He warned that the 10th National Assembly would no longer approve budget extensions beyond December 31, citing poor implementation, abandoned projects, and weak accountability.
The Senate also vowed to tighten scrutiny of service-wide votes and enforce strict oversight of MDAs, insisting that no agency would benefit from such spending without clear accountability. Adeola added that borrowing would be structured to avoid crowding out private-sector credit, with emphasis on external loans, public-private partnerships, asset optimisation, privatisation, and Eurobond issuances.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Health, Prof. Mohammed Ali Pate, revealed that the Federal Ministry of Health received only ₦36 million out of its ₦218 billion capital allocation for 2025, crippling project execution. He attributed the shortfall to cash planning constraints and delayed counterpart-funding, while reaffirming the ministry’s commitment to Universal Health Coverage under the 2026 Budget framework.
