The Senate has approved the 2026–2028 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP), formally clearing the path for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to present the 2026 Appropriation Bill, estimated at ₦54.4 trillion, before the National Assembly later this week.
The approval followed extensive debate at plenary on Tuesday, December 16, 2025, after the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Senator Sani Musa, presented the committee’s report on the fiscal policy document.
Announcing the passage, Senate President Godswill Akpabio stressed that the MTEF is a constitutional and statutory prerequisite for the presentation of the annual budget and does not constitute the final position of the legislature on government spending.
Akpabio said, “The Medium-Term Expenditure Framework is only a prerequisite before the presentation of the budget. What we are discussing here is not a finality. If circumstances change, it will be brought back to us to rejig, react, or act.”
Akpabio explained that the Senate’s approval would enable the National Assembly to receive the 2026 budget proposal between now and Thursday, noting that the assumptions and projections in the framework would still be subjected to further scrutiny once the full budget is laid before lawmakers.
He expressed confidence that the fiscal projections outlined in the MTEF would be sufficiently realistic to support the effective delivery of the Federal Government’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
During the debate, Senator Mohammed Monguno described the key fiscal parameters in the framework as attainable, pointing to the crude oil production benchmark of 1.84 million barrels per day as achievable under current conditions.
He also commended the decision to lower the oil price benchmark to $60 per barrel from $64, describing it as a cautious and prudent adjustment in view of volatility in the global oil market.
At the conclusion of deliberations, the Senate adopted the recommendations contained in the MTEF/FSP report through a voice vote.
Earlier, President Tinubu had formally transmitted the 2026–2028 MTEF and Fiscal Strategy Paper to the National Assembly, signalling the official commencement of the 2026 budget cycle.
In a letter read on the Senate floor by the Deputy President of the Senate, Barau Jibrin (APC, Kano North), the President said the submission was in compliance with statutory provisions and detailed the macroeconomic assumptions, revenue projections and expenditure priorities that would shape the 2026 Appropriation Bill.
Jibrin urged lawmakers to fast-track consideration of the document to ensure a seamless and timely budget process for the coming fiscal year.
