Dare Babalola
The Senate Appropriations Committee has scheduled March 17, 2026, for the final review and passage of the ₦58.472 trillion 2026 budget bill.
This followed a special session on Friday, where the committee approved February 2-13, 2026, for committee-level review of the budget estimates.
The committee equally fixed Monday, February 9, 2026, for a public hearing on the budget proposal.
Committee Chairman, Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola, also announced that March 5, 2026, is set for a meeting between committee members and top economic officials, including Finance Minister Wale Edun and Budget Minister Atiku Bagudu.
According to him, February 16 to 23, 2026, has been earmarked for the submission of reports on budget defence by various standing committee chairmen, ahead of the presentation of the Appropriations Committee’s report to the Senate on March 17.
He disclosed that while the Senate leadership initially preferred the budget to be passed by March 12, 2026, he successfully appealed for an additional week to allow for more thorough scrutiny.
To aid detailed examination of the estimates, Senator Adeola said hard copies of the 2026 budget have been printed and distributed to chairmen and members of the Senate’s standing committees.
President Bola Tinubu had presented the estimates of N58.472 trillion to a joint session of the National Assembly on December 19, 2025.
The budget passed second reading on December 23.
