Senate Plans to Approve N58.4 Trillion 2026 Budget on March 17

The Senate has earmarked March 17 as the date for the final review and approval of the N58.472 trillion budget for the year 2026.

During a special session in Abuja, the Senate Committee on Appropriations established the timeline for reviewing the budget estimates from February 2 to February 13.

Senator Solomon Adeola, who chairs the committee, announced that a public hearing on the budget proposal will occur on February 9.

Professor Wasiu Adeoye, an Economics lecturer at the University of Lagos, is scheduled to deliver a presentation via PowerPoint during the hearing.

The theme for the public session will focus on 'Strengthening Microeconomic Stability, Accelerating Infrastructure Delivery, and Enhancing Security through Fiscal Discipline and Effective Implementation of the 2026 Budget.'

Senator Adeola further disclosed that budget discussions with Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) will take place from Monday, February 2, until Friday, February 13, where all relevant MDAs will be invited to participate.

Moreover, March 5 has been set for an interactive meeting between committee members and Federal Government economic managers, including Wale Edun, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, and Atiku Bagudu, the Minister of Budget and National Planning.

Adeola stated that the period from February 16 to February 23 will be allocated for various committee chairpersons to submit their reports on the budget defense, leading to a presentation of these reports to the Senate on March 17.

He informed the committee members that there was an initial desire to pass the budget by March 12; however, he advocated for an additional week to ensure thorough consideration before the final passage.

“We must ensure our work is organized within this timeframe to successfully pass the budget despite leadership preferring March 12,” the senator remarked.

Senator Adeola underlined the necessity of diligent review and evaluation of the budget estimates, stating that hard copies for the 2026 budget have been printed and distributed to committee chairpersons and members.

According to a report by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the committee adopted the proposed timetable, which was moved by Senator Adamu Aliero (APC- Kebbi) and seconded by Senator Orji Kalu (APC-Abia).