President Bola Tinubu has set his sights on constructing a “safe, aggressive, and affluent Nigeria” in 2026, following what the Federal Authorities described as a 12 months of consolidating reforms and strengthening nationwide foundations.
The Minister of Data and Nationwide Orientation, Mohammed Idris, said this on Monday whereas briefing journalists on the end-of-year press convention held in Abuja.
In response to him, 2025 marked a interval of stabilisation throughout key sectors, whereas 2026 would give attention to translating these positive aspects into lasting nationwide progress and safety.
“The journey of 2025 was one among reinforcing and strengthening foundations. The mission of 2026 is to lift the edifice of a safe, aggressive, and affluent Nigeria upon it,” Idris mentioned.
The minister, who spoke on the directive of President Tinubu, started by asserting the discharge of kidnapped pupils of St. Mary’s Catholic College, Papiri, Niger State, describing it as a significant safety success.
Reviewing the administration’s 2025 scorecard, Idris highlighted financial enhancements, together with “Gross Home Product progress of three.98 per cent within the third quarter of the 12 months,” a gradual decline in inflation, strengthened “exterior reserves of about $44.56bn, and a commerce surplus of N6.69tn.”
He additionally cited document achievements within the energy sector, infrastructure financing, agriculture, youth empowerment and investor confidence, noting that Nigeria exited the Monetary Motion Process Drive Gray Listing and recorded a massively oversubscribed Eurobond issuance.
On safety, Idris mentioned the FG declared a nationwide safety emergency in 2025, laying the groundwork for elevated recruitment into the Armed Forces and Police, in addition to the deployment of forest guards nationwide.
“Let me be clear about what this implies: That henceforth, any armed group that kidnaps our youngsters, assaults our farmers, or terrorises our communities is formally categorized and will likely be handled as a terrorist organisation. The period of ambiguous nomenclature is over!” he declared.
Explaining additional, the minister mentioned, “The Nigeria Training Mortgage Fund has now supported over 788,000 Nigerian college students with interest-free loans and stipends amounting to over 150 billion Naira.
“In 2026, our newly appointed Ambassadors will take up their posts of their international locations of task, strengthening our bilateral relations and advancing our visibility and strategic engagements within the world group.”
Looking forward to 2026, the minister mentioned Tinubu’s proposed N58.18trn finances underscored the administration’s priorities, with defence and safety receiving the biggest single allocation of N5.41trn.
He defined that the finances, tagged “Funds of Consolidation, Renewed Resilience and Shared Prosperity,” was designed to deepen reforms, shield lives and property, and unlock financial competitiveness.
“The momentary pains of reform are yielding to everlasting positive aspects. President Tinubu’s imaginative and prescient for Nigeria is large, his technique unambiguous, and his resolve unshakeable,” Idris mentioned.
He added that with reforms maturing and establishments strengthening, Nigeria was positioning itself as a assured world participant and a rustic prepared for sustained progress.
“That is the Nigeria we’re constructing collectively. A Nigeria, actually on the transfer,” the minister mentioned.
Tinubu’s administration assumed workplace amid vital financial challenges, together with excessive inflation, overseas change volatility, and rising debt ranges.
The federal government has carried out fiscal, financial, and subsidy reforms, which it describes as measures aimed toward stabilising the financial system and supporting long-term progress.
Safety has additionally been highlighted as a authorities precedence.
The administration has recognized kidnapping, banditry, and insurgency as points affecting financial exercise, meals manufacturing and inside motion.
Officers have said that enhancing safety is vital for financial progress, job creation, and nationwide stability, and have positioned it as a key focus of the 2026 coverage agenda.
Opposition events have criticised the Tinubu administration’s claims of financial stability and improved safety, insisting that the federal government’s evaluation doesn’t mirror circumstances on the bottom.
