President Bola Tinubu will present the 2027 budget proposal to a joint session of the National Assembly before the end of December 2026. The Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Doris Uzoka-Anite, disclosed this on Wednesday. She spoke after the Federal Executive Council meeting in Abuja. “We are working on the 2027 budget, and our intention is to present it before the end of the year,” she said.
Nigeria’s budget cycle has been inconsistent. In recent years, the government has extended capital implementation deadlines repeatedly. The 2025 budget’s capital component was extended four times, finally to 31 December 2026. President Tinubu pledged to end the practice of overlapping budgets. The December presentation would allow the National Assembly to begin consideration before the fiscal year starts. That would be an improvement. It would also be unusual.
The FEC meeting was presided over by the President at the Council Chambers. The Minister of Works, David Umahi, announced that the council approved ₦631.3 billion for nine road infrastructure projects nationwide. The approvals included ₦167 billion for the reconstruction of the 95-kilometre Etuke–Okeni–Ankpa–Otopa Road in Kogi. Another ₦209 billion was approved for the 81.1-kilometre Ado–Ilawe–Ilumaba–Ikole Road in Ekiti, including a bridge. ₦62 billion went to the Tungo–Karamti Road linking Adamawa and Taraba, with five bridges.
Other approvals included ₦20.257 billion for an 18-kilometre road connecting Asiago to the Port Harcourt–Enugu Expressway. ₦30 billion was earmarked for remedial works on deteriorated sections of the East–West Road. ₦11.33 billion was approved for a road project previously undertaken by the Abia Government. ₦28.218 billion went to the rehabilitation of a 17-kilometre section of the Sokoto–Illela Road.
Umahi also commended Tinubu over the completion of the first 118-kilometre section of the Abuja–Kaduna–Zaria Road. It was completed in 30 months. Eighty-one kilometres were built with reinforced concrete pavement. The second section, covering 164 kilometres, is nearing completion, with only 16 kilometres remaining. The entire 375-kilometre corridor will be equipped with solar-powered streetlights.
The budget presentation date matters. The 2027 election is in January. The budget will fund the election and the transition. The National Assembly must scrutinise it. The December timeline gives it a month before the vote. That is tight.
Winners: The National Assembly, which gains early access. Contractors, who gain road contracts. The Ministry of Works, which shows delivery. States hosting projects, which gain infrastructure. Losers: Taxpayers, who fund the projects. Critics who see the approvals as pre-election spending. The budget process, if the December date slips. States without projects. The 2027 budget, if election spending crowds out development.
Bottom Line: The 2027 budget will arrive in December. The FEC has approved road contracts worth ₦631.3 billion. The timeline is tight. The election is in January. The budget must fund both governance and politics. The National Assembly has a month. The scrutiny must be real.