Defence Minister said Friday that the ₦5.41 trillion allocated to defence in the 2026 budget would purchase only a limited number of advanced military systems, citing the high cost of modern weaponry.
Responding to questions about the size of the allocation announced by President Bola Tinubu, the minister urged a conversion of the figure into dollars to illustrate its real purchasing power.
“Divide it into dollars. What can you buy? Maybe you can buy a few things,” he said.
He pointed to the price of specific munitions to underline the point. “One Tomahawk missile that was fired is $3.2 million. One drone precision bomb, the least, is $100,000 — that’s ₦140 million. Imagine when you fire it: if it hits somebody or doesn’t hit something, ₦140 million is gone.”
