The Federal Government has quietly inserted fresh infrastructure projects worth about N487.56bn into the reviewed 2026 budget, signalling an aggressive push to expand rail and transport networks beyond earlier projections.
Findings showed that the nine projects, largely centred on light rail systems and transport corridors, were not captured in the initial budget proposal submitted to the National Assembly in 2025.
Instead, the provisions surfaced in the 2026 Appropriation Bill approved by the National Assembly and detailed in the House of Representatives Order Paper dated March 31, 2026, as well as in the accompanying budget schedule.
The infrastructure outlook was contained in the 2026 Abridged Budget Call Circular issued by the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning.
At the heart of the new spending plan is the Lagos Green Line project, which received the single largest allocation of N170bn as counterpart funding under the Renewed Hope Infrastructure Programme, to be financed through the Ministry of Finance Incorporated.
Other major allocations include N125bn for the Kaduna Light Rail project, N120bn for Kano Light Rail, and N50bn for Ogun State Light Rail, pointing to a coordinated federal effort to deepen urban mass transit systems across key economic hubs.
In addition to the full-scale projects, the government earmarked N4bn each for feasibility studies for light rail systems in Enugu and Maiduguri, while N5.6bn was set aside for a nationwide narrow gauge rail assessment.
Further provisions include N8.96bn for feasibility studies covering the Calabar–Maiduguri corridor and the proposed Maiduguri–Sokoto superhighway, underscoring a broader ambition to connect Nigeria’s southern and northern economic belts.
The newly introduced projects bring a fresh dimension to the 2026 fiscal plan, which was originally presented by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on December 19, 2025, with a total size of N58.18tn under the theme, “Budget of Consolidation, Renewed Resilience and Shared Prosperity.”
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