National Assembly passes N68.3tn 2026 budget for third reading

Both chambers of the National Assembly on Tuesday approved for third reading a total budget of N68.3 trillion for the 2026 fiscal year, marking a significant increase of N9 trillion over the N58.47 trillion initially proposed by President Bola Tinubu in December 2025.

The upward review reflects adjustments made to the original proposal by the executive and subsequently endorsed by federal lawmakers during legislative consideration.

The passage followed the adoption of harmonised reports presented by the respective Committees on Appropriations in the Senate and the House of Representatives.

Presenting the report in the Senate, Olamilekan Adeola (Ogun West), Chairman of the Appropriations Committee, outlined key areas responsible for the increase. According to him, the revisions were driven by “outstanding unfunded capital obligations amounting to ₦5.71 trillion arising from the 2025 Appropriation (Repeal and Enactment) Act, as well as ₦2 trillion capital for priority projects across multiple sectors and locations nationwide, which were omitted in the rollover to the 2026 Appropriation Bill.”

He further disclosed that the budget accommodates “Federal Government equity contribution of ₦478.60 billion under the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI) framework for the Presidential Legacy Light Rail Projects in Lagos, Kano, Kaduna, and Ogun States, including feasibility studies for the Enugu and Maiduguri Urban Light Rail Projects, as well as the narrow-gauge railway network.”

Additional allocations include “₦8.96 billion for detailed feasibility studies for the Calabar–Maiduguri Corridor (traversing the North Central Zone) and the Maiduguri–Sokoto Superhighway under the Tinubu National Beltway Initiative.”

The report also provides for “an additional US$344.83 million, equivalent to approximately ₦482.76 billion, for priority health sector interventions tied to existing bilateral understandings and implementation commitments,” alongside “₦98.50 billion for the Court of Appeal and ₦36.7 billion for the Supreme Court in support of the institutional architecture for the 2027 General Election cycle.”

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Furthermore, lawmakers approved “₦268.54 billion for the reinstatement of the Judiciary’s budget ceiling, as well as additional provisions to accommodate the prospective appointment of more Justices of the Court of Appeal and Judges.”

A breakdown of the approved N68.3 trillion budget shows N4.79 trillion allocated for statutory transfers, N15.4 trillion for recurrent (non-debt) expenditure, N32.2 trillion for capital projects, and N15.8 trillion earmarked for debt servicing.

Adeola noted that while the oil price benchmark was adjusted upward from $65 to $75 per barrel, other macroeconomic assumptions remain consistent with projections contained in the 2026–2028 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper.

The committees, however, stressed the need for strict and timely implementation of the budget. In the report, lawmakers urged that “bureaucratic bottlenecks that led to the challenges of late releases of funds in 2025 should be addressed holistically, to achieve the theme of the 2026 Appropriation Bill: From Budget to Impact.”

They added that “deliberate efforts must be made in 2026 by the Senate in collaboration with the Executive to implement the 2026 Appropriation holistically,” noting that continuous oversight would be required “to manage and guide capital projects implementation with discipline, and pursue infrastructural growth that is broad-based with sustainable legislation.”

In his remarks following the passage, Senate President Godswill Akpabio expressed optimism that effective implementation of the budget would help reposition the nation’s economy, stating that it has the potential to move Nigeria “out of the doldrums.”

Meanwhile, the National Assembly also approved an extension of the implementation timeline for the capital component of the 2025 Appropriation Act, shifting the deadline from March 31, 2026, to June 30, 2026.

The decision followed the passage of a bill titled, “A Bill for an Act to Amend the Appropriation Act (Repeal and Enactment) to extend the implementation of the Capital aspect of the Appropriation Act, 2025… and for Related Matters (HB.2743),” which was considered and adopted during plenary.

Lawmakers explained that the extension is intended to ensure the effective execution of capital projects by allowing more time for the release and utilisation of funds allocated to ministries, departments and agencies.

This development builds on an earlier approval granted in December 2025, when the National Assembly extended the capital component of the 2025 budget to March 31, 2026.

It will be recalled that lawmakers also passed a revised 2025 budget in December, with a total expenditure of N48.32 trillion.

The adjusted framework provided N3.64 trillion for statutory transfers, N14.31 trillion for debt servicing, N13.58 trillion for recurrent expenditure, and N16.76 trillion for capital expenditure and development fund contributions.