By Ikugbadi Oluwasegun
Strong indications have emerged that President Bola Tinubu may not present the 2026 budget estimates to the National Assembly any time soon. This is just as the Senate has insisted on receiving a detailed performance report on the 2024 budget and clear expectations for the 2025 fiscal year before considering new proposals.
The Senate Committee on Finance, after a closed-door session with key economic managers, directed the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun; the Accountant-General of the Federation, Samsudeen Ogunjimi; and the Director-General of the Budget Office, Tanimu Yakubu, to submit documented reports within two weeks.
Committee Chairman, Senator Sani Musa, told journalists after the meeting that the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP) for 2026–2029 would only be considered after the National Assembly receives the requested documents by October 23.
Earlier, before the meeting went behind closed doors, Finance Minister Wale Edun maintained that the capital component of the 2024 budget was recording “high performance” and that prospects for 2025 were positive.
However, the Director-General of the Budget Office painted a different picture, describing the two fiscal years as “turbulent” and far from projections. The Minister and other members of the team declared that the Country’s economy under the present administration is on the right path.
