NIGERIA: Tinubu To Present ₦54 Trillion 2026 Budget To National Assembly Friday

By Ameenat Hamzat, Lagos, Nigeria 

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is scheduled to present the ₦54 trillion 2026 Appropriation Bill to a joint session of the National Assembly on Friday, December 19, 2025.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, disclosed this on Thursday during plenary while reading a letter from the president requesting permission to address the lawmakers.

In the letter, President Tinubu sought approval to present the budget at 2:00 p.m. before a joint sitting of both chambers.

The letter read: “I write to crave the kind indulgence of the House of Representatives to grant me the slot of 14:00hrs on Friday, 19 December 2025, to formally present the 2026 budget to a joint session of the National Assembly.”

The budget presentation follows the recent transmission of the 2026–2028 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP) to the National Assembly.

While the Senate passed the MTEF and FSP earlier this week, the House of Representatives temporarily stepped down consideration of the report on Wednesday.

Speaker Abbas raised concerns over the proposed crude oil benchmark price contained in the framework, prompting lawmakers to delay adoption pending further review.

Chairman of the House Committee on Finance, James Faleke, disclosed that the executive initially proposed crude oil benchmark prices of $64.85 per barrel for 2026, $64.30 for 2027, and $65.50 for 2028.

However, the committee adjusted the projections to $60 per barrel for 2026, $65 for 2027, and $70 for 2028, citing the need for conservative fiscal planning amid global oil market uncertainties.

The House is expected to resume deliberations on the MTEF report following the budget presentation.