Senate Fixes March 17 to Pass ₦58.47trn Budget for 2026

The Senate has set March 17 as the deadline for reviewing and approving the 2026 national budget, which is estimated at ₦58.472 trillion.

The decision was taken during a special session of the Senate Committee on Appropriations held in Abuja.

Chairman of the committee, Senator Solomon Adeola, said the timeline was carefully structured to allow for robust engagement with Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), as well as members of the public.

Adeola announced that the consideration of budget estimates at the committee level will hold between February 2 and 13, with February 9 slated for a public hearing on the 2026 appropriation bill.

“Budget hearing and engagement with MDAs starts on Monday, Feb. 2, to Friday, Feb. 13, where all sub-committee chairmen will invite all their relevant MDAs for discussion and presentation,” he said.

Adeola said a public presentation will be delivered during the hearing by Professor Wasiu Adeoye, an economist from the University of Lagos.

The presentation is titled: “Strengthening Microeconomic Stability, Accelerating Infrastructure Delivery, and Improving Security through Fiscal Discipline and Effective Implementation of the 2026 Budget.”

To ensure alignment between the legislature and the executive, the committee fixed March 5 for an interactive session with key economic managers of the federal government.

Expected at the session are the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun and the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Atiku Bagudu.

Senator Adeola also informed the committee that chairmen of standing committees are expected to submit their budget defence reports between February 16 and 23.

These reports will form the basis of the final appropriation report to be presented to the Senate on March 17.

While the Senate leadership had earlier proposed March 12 as the target date for passage, Senator Adeola revealed he sought a short extension.

“We must make sure we work within the time and ensure that the budget is passed, even though the leadership is asking for March 12.

“Because I know how tedious this job can be once we start, I tried to convince them that we should look at March 17 and 19 so that we can pass the budget,” Adeola explained.

The senator added that hard copies of the 2026 budget had already been printed and distributed to all relevant committee chairmen and members to facilitate a meticulous review.

The timetable was officially adopted following a motion by Senator Adamu Aliero (APC, Kebbi) and seconded by Senator Orji Uzor Kalu (APC, Abia).