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From Adesuwa Tsan, Abuja
Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, has outlined an expansive legislative agenda for the 10th National Assembly as it resumes plenary, with priority attention on the N58.47 trillion 2026 Appropriation Bill, sweeping electoral reforms ahead of the 2027 general elections, and the concluding phase of the 1999 Constitution review.
Bamidele said the Assembly has only 16 months left of its four-year tenure, stressing that the speed of time underscores the need for “speedy, but well-thought-out responses to our nation’s toughest challenges.”
“They also place upon us the burden of trust that we struggle daily to defend and treasure never to breach,” he said, describing trust as central to the legislature’s mandate.
According to him, the last 32 months have been devoted to “far-reaching reforms that cut across all the sectors of our economy,” aimed at recalibrating Nigeria “from being an extraction-dependent state to an economically diversified state, now enabled for optimal productivity and repositioned for global competitiveness.”
On the 2026 budget, the Senate Leader disclosed that lawmakers would devote “quality time to the scrutiny and passage of the 2026 Appropriation Bill valued at N58.47 trillion,” which President Bola Ahmed Tinubu presented to a joint session of the National Assembly on December 18, 2025. He said committees in both chambers were already examining the revenue and expenditure estimates.
“The proposal is crucial to the growth, prosperity and stability of our economy this year and even beyond,” Bamidele said, adding that the budget would help translate economic growth into “decent jobs, rising incomes and a better quality of life across the federation,” while restoring a January–December budget cycle.
He also pointed to reforms of Nigeria’s fiscal space, culminating in the enactment of the 2025 Tax Reform Act. According to him, the new regime “eases tax burden off the shoulders of low-income earners and places more responsibilities upon the high-income earners,” expressing confidence that funding the budget would no longer be a major challenge and that deficits would “begin to shrink year by year.”
On electoral reforms, Bamidele said the National Assembly was determined to deliver a credible framework for the 2027 polls through the ongoing review of the Electoral Act, 2022 and the proposed Electoral Bill, 2025.
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He said the Bill introduces no fewer than 20 major reforms, including voting rights for prisoners under Section 12, early release of election funds at least one year before polls under Section 3(3), electronically generated voter identification cards with QR codes, mandatory electronic transmission of polling unit results, and standardised delegates for indirect primaries.
Other provisions include stricter voter identification, extended publication of candidates’ details, early verification of party symbols, tighter regulation of party conventions, higher campaign spending and donation limits, judicial determination of candidate exclusion, and harsher penalties for electoral offences.
“With respect to vote buying, the sanctions range from a fine of N5 million to a two-year imprisonment and a 10-year ban from contesting elections,” he said, noting that the Bill introduces mandatory jail terms and tougher fines for result falsification and obstruction of election officials. “This provision forecloses the possibility of impunity when electoral offences are established.”
Bamidele said the Committees on INEC in both chambers would soon submit their reports, after which the Bill would be debated and voted on clause by clause before transmission to the President.
On constitutional review, he disclosed that technical sessions and public hearings had been concluded and that the Deputy President of the Senate and Chairman of the Constitution Review Committee, Senator Barau I. Jibrin, would present the report to the Senate before the end of the first quarter of 2026.
He emphasised that the process would also require approval by at least two-thirds of the 36 State Houses of Assembly, as stipulated under Section 9(3) of the 1999 Constitution.
“As we round off the process, the onus now rests upon the state legislatures to consider the proposals on their merit and approve them accordingly.”
Bamidele stressed that beyond legislative output, the National Assembly remains focused on strengthening public trust. “At the end of it all, good governance, enhanced security and welfare of our constituents shall remain our cardinal objectives as well as the core of our legislative agenda,” he stated.
