The Nigerian Senate has passed the 2026 – 2028 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper (MTEF/FSP), projecting a massive aggregate expenditure for the upcoming fiscal year.
The document, which serves as the statutory blueprint for the 2026 Appropriation Bill, was approved on Tuesday following the consideration of the report presented by the Chairman of the Senate Committees on Finance, Senator Mohammed Sani Musa (APC – Niger East).
The passage clears the way for President Bola Tinubu to present the formal 2026 budget proposal to the National Assembly, which is expected to happen between now and Thursday, according to Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
Also, the Senate approved the sum of US$64.85 per barrel as the oil benchmark, projected aggregate revenue of ₦ 34.33trillion, Fiscal Deficit of N20.13 trillion, Borrowings at ₦ 17.88trillion, Debt Service of ₦ 15.52 trillion, and Pensions, gratuities, retirees’ benefits of N1.376trillion.
Akpabio described the MTEF as a prerequisite for the presentation of the national budget, underpinning that the document does not represent a final position of the legislature.
“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,” he said.