House of Reps passes N58.47trn 2026 budget bill for second reading

The House of Representatives has passed the Federal Government’s proposed N58.47 trillion 2026 appropriation bill for second reading, moving the budget a step closer to legislative approval.

The money bill scaled through the stage during Thursday’s plenary after lawmakers reconvened from an executive session that lasted more than 30 minutes.

The closed-door meeting was held to allow members deliberate on key aspects of the proposed budget before returning to the chamber to continue proceedings.

Julius Ihonvbere, who represents Owan federal constituency and serves as the House majority leader, moved the motion for the consideration of the budget.

While presenting the general principles of the bill, Ihonvbere described the 2026 budget as part of a long and challenging journey towards peace, economic growth, stability and sustainable development.

He said genuine development must be sustained over time, adding that short-term or temporary progress cannot be regarded as true development.

The majority leader said economic growth is often challenging and painful, especially in a country that inherited distorted political, social, and economic structures.

The lawmaker said the task of restructuring and repositioning Nigeria would never be painless.

Ihonvbere said the current administration did not inherit a new set of citizens but was working with the same Nigerians and institutions shaped by previous administrations.

The ranking legislator urged lawmakers to put themselves in the position of those managing the economy, emphasising that the national assembly had a responsibility to guide the executive and ensure accountability.

He highlighted the president’s foreign engagements, including a recent visit to Turkey, which he described as a strong economic partner.

The lawmaker said the naira had remained relatively stable, noting that the exchange rate had fallen from over N1,800 to about N1,400, adding that President Bola Tinubu had not printed money since assuming office.

The lawmaker said Nigeria’s external reserves had risen to about $46 billion, enough to cover more than 10 months of imports, noting that these indicators formed the background to the 2026 budget.

Ihonvbere outlined the administration’s commitments, including improved budget discipline, stronger revenue performance, better tax administration, blockage of financial leakages, consolidation of macroeconomic stability, improvement of the business environment, human capital development, and effective debt management.

He said both the executive and the legislature were committed to implementing these goals in the interest of Nigerians.

Ihonvbere described the budget as a statement of promises, expectations, and the government’s vision, reflecting a commitment to building a social, political, economic, and cultural environment that enables Nigerians to reach their full potential.

He said such progress would benefit future generations and encourage successive governments to build on current achievements, while prioritising the welfare and security of women and children.

The lawmaker urged his colleagues to support the budget and keep hope alive, stressing that the legislature was part of the government and had a role to play in ensuring its success.

Following Ihonvbere’s presentation, Tajudeen Abbas, speaker of the house, called for a voice vote, with the “ayes” outweighing the “nays.”

The house subsequently passed the bill for second reading without any debate or opposition.

Tinubu presented the 2026 budget to the joint session of the national assembly on December 19.

The senate passed the budget for second reading on December 23.

A breakdown of the budget shows that out of the total N58,472,628,944,759 budget, N4,097,381,103,856 is earmarked for statutory transfers and N15,909,361,631,657 for debt servicing.

The budget proposes N15,251,538,827,423 for recurrent (non-debt) expenditure, which includes the routine running costs of government.

In addition, the appropriation bill allocates N23,214,347,381,824 to the development fund for capital expenditure, meant to finance infrastructure and other long-term projects.

On December 18, the house passed the 2026-2028 medium-term expenditure framework (MTEF) and the fiscal strategy paper (FSP).

The green chamber endorsed the federal government’s projected crude oil benchmark prices of $64.85, $64.3, and $65.5 per barrel for 2026, 2027, and 2028, respectively.

However, the senate approved a downward review of the crude oil benchmark price for 2026 to $60 per barrel, from $64.85

The lower legislative chamber retained the projected domestic crude oil production of 1.84 million barrels per day (mbpd), 1.88 mbpd, and 1.92 mbpd for 2026, 2027, and 2028, respectively.

The house also approved a projected exchange rate of N1,512, N1,432.15, and N1,383.18 for the 2026-2028 fiscal year.

On inflation rate projections for 2026, 2027, and 2028, the legislators adopted 16.5 percent, 13 percent, and 9 percent, respectively.

In anticipation of tax reform gains, the house also approved GDP growth rate projections of 4.68 percent, 5.96 percent and 7.9 percent for the years 2026, 2027, and 2028, respectively.