By Kayode Sanni-Arewa
The Senate, through its Committee on Appropriations, has tentatively fixed March 17, 2026, for the final consideration and passage of the ₦58.472 trillion 2026 Appropriation Bill.
This was made known after a special session on Friday, where February 2 to 13, 2026, was approved for the consideration of budget estimates at the committee level. 
The committee equally fixed Monday, February 9, 2026, for a public hearing on the budget proposal.
Chairman of the committee, Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola, further disclosed that Thursday, March 5, 2026, has been scheduled for an interactive session between members of the committee and key economic managers of the Federal Government, including the Ministers of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, as well as the Minister of Budget and National Planning, 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.
