Business and Economy
Senate Targets March 17 for Passage of N58.472 Trillion 2026 Budget
…Sets February 2–13 for Committee-Level Consideration
By Ugbede James Ankpa
The Senate, through its Committee on Appropriations, on Friday tentatively scheduled Tuesday, March 17, 2026, for the final consideration and passage of the N48.
To meet the proposed timeline, the committee, at a special session held on Friday, fixed February 2 to 13 for the consideration of the budget estimates at the committee level.
In order to ensure an inclusive process, the committee also slated Monday, February 9, 2026, for a public hearing on the budget proposal. According to the Chairman of the committee, Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola (Ogun West), an erudite Professor of Economics at the University of Lagos, Wasiu Adeoye, will deliver a PowerPoint presentation at the hearing.
Furthermore, as proposed by Senator Adeola and subsequently adopted by the committee, Thursday, March 5, 2026, has been earmarked for an interactive session between committee members and key economic managers of the Federal Government, including the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, and the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Atiku Bagudu, among others.
The chairman also disclosed that February 16 to 23, 2026, have been set for the submission of reports on budget defence by the various committee chairmen, ahead of the presentation of the committee’s report to the Senate on March 17.
He informed members that the Senate leadership had initially preferred the budget to be passed by March 12, 2026, but he was able to secure an additional one week to allow for more thorough work.
According to him, to ensure meticulous scrutiny and detailed consideration of the budget estimates, hard copies of the 2026 budget have been printed and distributed to chairmen and members of the various standing committees.
The committee subsequently adopted the timetable following a motion moved by Senator Adamu Aliero (Kebbi Central) and seconded by Senator Orji Uzor Kalu (Abia North).
