Senate sets March 17 date for 2026 Budget passage

Barring unforeseen circumstances, the Senate will pass the N48.472 trillion 2026 national budget on Tuesday, March 17, for subsequent assent by President Bola Tinubu.

This timeline was indicated by the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, Senator Solomon Adeola (APC, Ogun West), during a special committee meeting held on Friday.

He outlined a comprehensive schedule for the budget’s scrutiny, revealing that the Senate leadership had originally targeted March 12 for passage before he secured an additional week.

According to the adopted timetable, consideration of the budget estimates at the committee level is scheduled for February 2 to 13.

To ensure meticulous scrutiny, hard copies of the budget have been printed for all standing committee chairmen and members.

A public hearing on the budget proposal is set for Monday, February 9, featuring a guest lecture by Professor Wasiu Adeoye, an economics expert from the University of Lagos.

Furthermore, an interactive session between the committee and key federal government economic managers—including the Minister of Finance, Mr. Wale Edun; the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Atiku Bagudu; and the Chairman of the National Revenue Service, Mr. Zacch Adedeji—is fixed for Thursday, March 5.

The window for the submission of reports on budget defence by various committee chairmen is from February 16 to 23.

These reports will pave the way for the Appropriations Committee to present its final report to the full Senate on March 17.

The committee adopted this schedule following a motion moved by Senator Adamu Aliero (APC, Kebbi Central) and seconded by Senator Orji Uzor Kalu (APC, Abia North) before the meeting was adjourned.

About The Author

Dele Fashomi

Dele Fashomi, seasoned journalist and communication teacher, is a holder of Master of Arts degree in Communication and Language Arts from the University of Ibadan in 1992/93.

Earlier, he had bagged a Bachelor degree from the same university in 1984, after which he proceeded to the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Lagos, in 1990, for a postgraduate diploma in Journalism.

He had done many courses in communication, including the EU-BBC Editing Course in 2002.

Mr. Fashomi combines effectively the practice, research and teaching of communication. And to date, he has published two academic works in communication: Issues in Communication Technology and Policy (2010) and Economic and Social Issues in Advertising and PR (2013).

He had his first break in the Nigerian media in Concord Newspapers in 1990 and today, he has over two and half decades experience earned in several newspapers.

He has been part of many start-ups, such as The Republic (1987), The Comet (1999), The Anchor 2001 – 2002; Sun Newspapers (2003); Westerner newsmagazine (2005 – 2010) as Editor; National Life (2011) as Sunday Editor, and Newswatch Newspapers (2012- 2016) as Daily Editor.

Dele Fashomi is now the Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of Newstide247.com newspaper online, which he started in July 2015. He is also into biography writing, with many books in his trail, some of which he wrote alone and one he co- authored with his mentor, Mr Dare Babarinsa, entitled:  Olabiyi Durojaiye – DARE TO BE DiFFERENT. He also guided and collaborated with Pa Olatunji Odusanya in writing his autobiography – AGAINST ALL ODDS. There are many other books in the works under his pen.

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