The president of the Nigerian Senate, Godswill Akpabio, has said the upper chamber plans to pass the 2026 appropriation bill on March 31 when lawmakers reconvene from the Sallah recess.
Akpabio made the disclosure during Thursday’s plenary shortly before the senate adjourned for the holiday break.
He explained that although senators are on recess, committees will continue their assignments, particularly ongoing budget defence sessions with ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs), alongside consultations with the appropriation committee.
Akpabio urged the senate leadership to ensure the committee on appropriations completes the harmonisation of its report before lawmakers return.
“I hope the leader will put pressure on the committee on appropriations to harmonise the report of the 2026 appropriation bill by that date,” he said.
“This is so that when we resume, we can try our best to pass the budget without requiring further concurrence or harmonisation.”
The senate president also stressed the need for collaboration among members of the leadership to keep the budget process on schedule.
“Leadership must work together to ensure everything is in order,” he said.
He noted that the House of Representatives (Nigeria) has also suspended plenary to enable lawmakers complete work on the budget and is expected to reconvene on March 31.
Earlier, the senate committee on appropriations scheduled March 17 for the final consideration of the N58.47 trillion 2026 budget proposal.
To fast-track the process, the committee had set February 2 to February 13 for budget defence sessions involving various MDAs.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu presented the N58.47 trillion spending plan to a joint session of the National Assembly of Nigeria in December, saying the proposal focuses on economic stability, infrastructure expansion, security, and social investment programmes.
The senate has since approved the bill for first and second readings as part of the legislative process.
