Manny Ita
The Nigerian Senate has tentatively fixed Tuesday, March 17, 2026, for the final consideration and passage of the ₦58.47 trillion 2026 Appropriation Bill. This timeline was established during a special session of the Senate Committee on Appropriations on Friday, following an appeal for an additional week of scrutiny beyond the leadership’s initial target of March 12. Committee Chairman Senator Solomon Adeola stated that the extension was necessary to ensure a thorough examination of the estimates, noting that “I know how tedious this job can be once we start.” Hard copies of the budget have already been distributed to the various standing committees to facilitate this detailed review process.
Under the newly approved timetable, budget defense sessions for Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) are scheduled to take place from February 2 to February 13. To ensure an inclusive legislative process, the committee has fixed February 9 for a public hearing, which will feature a technical presentation by Professor Wasiu Adeoye of the University of Lagos. Senator Adeola emphasized the importance of fiscal discipline, stating that the public hearing would focus on “Strengthening the Microeconomic Stability, Accelerating Infrastructure Delivery, and Improving Security.” Additionally, a high-level interactive session with the government’s economic managers, including Finance Minister Wale Edun and Budget Minister Atiku Bagudu, has been set for March 5.
The 2026 budget, titled the “Budget of Consolidation, Renewed Resilience and Shared Prosperity,” was originally presented by President Bola Tinubu on December 19, 2025. The fiscal plan is anchored on a crude oil benchmark of $64.85 per barrel and an exchange rate of ₦1,400 to the US dollar. Sectoral allocations prioritize national security with ₦5.41 trillion, followed by infrastructure at ₦3.56 trillion and education at ₦3.52 trillion. President Tinubu previously told lawmakers that these priorities are “interlinked,” asserting that “without security, investment will not thrive,” and that the administration is committed to ending the practice of budget rollovers by March 31.
