Nigeria's 2026 defense budget assigns about 76% of the Ministry of Defence's allocation to personnel, while former Nigerian Air Force spokesperson Sadeeq Shehu says planning and governance require closer scrutiny.
The 2026 Appropriation Act sets the ministry's allocation at 3.158 trillion naira. It assigns 2.393 trillion naira to personnel, 299 billion naira to overhead and 466 billion naira to capital spending. Personnel therefore accounts for about 76% of the total and exceeds the other two categories combined, which amount to 765 billion naira.
The enacted total is slightly higher than the 3.154 trillion naira figure Shehu cited in his interview. He considered Nigeria's overall defense outlay reasonable relative to the country's resources, while arguing that budget planners should give more weight to equipment, maintenance and training.
ARISE News reported that Shehu made the comments in a Nov. 5 interview. “The problem is also a governance issue,” he told the outlet.
His criticism focused on the information available to officials setting priorities. The Act contains entries for agencies and projects, but Shehu argued that the personnel, overhead and capital totals do not give the presidency or National Assembly a clear enough picture of military requirements. He said decision-makers need a clearer account of those needs to set spending priorities.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's 2026 budget speech also addressed how security funds should be managed. Tinubu said security spending must deliver results, with clear accountability for outcomes, and identified military capability and equipment as priorities.
