Senate Discovers N292bn Difference In 2026 Budget As Appropriation Bill Scales Second Reading

The Senate on Tuesday passed the 2026 Appropriation Bill for second reading insisting that the budget size is N58.472 trillion, which is N292 billion higher than the N58.18 trillion presented by President Bola Tinubu last week.

Speaking with journalists after plenary, Chairman Senate Committee on Appropriation, Solomon Olamilekan said the real budget size is what is containing the bill, adding that “a lot of miscalculation must have happened, but the bill that is going to be considered by the National Assembly remains the real figure and the budget size of the Federal Government, which stood at N58.472 trillion.

On the issue of the repeal and reenactments bill, Olamilekan said what has happened is not anything new. “The things you’ve observed are in terms of the approach that was adopted in passing these two bills this afternoon, one budget size goes up and the other budget size was reduced.

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For that of 2024, the budget size grew from N35 trillion to 43 trillion naira to accommodate the security situation and humanitarian challenges that confronted us as a nation in 2024.

“So there are some items of transactions which were taken as a decision by the government on behalf of the country, which the Senate needs to do necessary legislative action on. So, that was what we acted upon in treating the repeal and reenactment of 2024.

On 2025 budget, Olamilekan said “long before now, what we usually have in terms of budget implementation, in terms of extension of budgets, at the particular time, there was a time we extended three budgets in the financial year. We have the supplementary budget, we have the 2023 budget and the 2024 budget. All the three budgets running concurrently.

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In line with President Tinubu’s resolve at the the budget presentation on Friday, Olamilekan re-echoed that “the revenue we generate in the financial year is one revenue. How can we now use 2025 revenue to be funding three different budgets? So the government said it’s not a right step in the right direction, and it doesn’t show fiscal discipline.

It is on that note that the government now tends to, at least rewrite the wrongs by saying that enough is enough, that no more extension of budget cycle. For instance, long before now, not that 2024 will be fully implemented, but on a normal day, we’ll have extended 2024, 2025, and also after 2026. And all the three will be running concurrently.

He assured that going forward, we only have one budget and that starts with the 2026 budget, adding for 2025, what we have simply done is that we decided to take more proactive steps by taking 70% of that capital budget for 2025 into 2026 budget.

To lay the matter to rest, Olamilekan said what is before him as the chairman, Senate, Committee on Appropriation is the bill and it is the bill he will work with because “I know that between Friday when the President presented his budget and today I don’t think anything fundamental has happened and I’ve not been briefed, but by the time we go into proper deliberation, we will find out what the true position is, but as we speak what is before us and what is contained in the bill that I have here is N58.472 trillion”.