As the Senate resumes plenary for the remaining 16 months of the 10th Assembly, Opeyemi Bamidele, the leader of the Senate, has stated that the National Assembly will prioritize constitutional amendments, constitutional amendments, and the passage of the 2026 Appropriation Bill.
The Assembly’s legislative agenda as it enters the final year of its four-year tenure was laid out in a statement released on Tuesday by Bamidele.
Only 16 months remain, underscoring the need for swift, well-considered legislative responses to Nigeria’s economic, political, and governance challenges.
According to him, the Assembly has spent the past 32 months working on radical reforms that will transform Nigeria’s extraction-dependent economy into a diversified, globally competitive one.
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As we resume the plenary, he said, “We have resolved to take into account and finish legislative initiatives that directly affect our electoral regime and governance structure, while consolidating reforms that have already been started to improve efficiency and people-centredness.”
The 2026 Appropriation Bill, which President Bola Ahmed Tinubu presented to a joint session of the National Assembly on December 18, 2025, would receive significant attention from the Assembly, according to Bamidele.
He claimed that the proposed budget is essential to preserving macroeconomic stability, boosting global competitiveness, and promoting economic growth through higher wages, job creation, and improved quality of life for Nigerians.
The Senate Leader claimed that recent fiscal reforms, including the passage of the 2025 Tax Reform Act, have reduced Nigeria’s fiscal burden by reducing the burden on low-income earners while imposing greater responsibility on high-income earners, which he claimed would help reduce budget deficits over time.
Prior to the 2027 general elections, Bamidele disclosed that the National Assembly has started a clause-by-clause review of the Electoral Act, 2022, through the proposed Electoral Bill, 2025.
He claimed that the Bill introduces more than 20 significant reforms, including mandatory release of election funds to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) one year before elections, electronic voter identification using QR codes, and required electronic transmission of polling unit results.
Other proposed changes include stricter voter registration standards, a stricter system for party primaries, increased campaign spending restrictions, tougher penalties for electoral crimes, and mandatory jail sentences for election-frauders who buy votes, falsify results, and obstruct election officials.
He claims that offenders who are found guilty of buying votes could face 10-year elections suspension, two-year prison, and fines of up to $5 million.
Bamidele predicted that soon the INEC Committees in both chambers would submit their reports for discussion, discussion, and voting before giving assent to the President.
He also made it clear that technical sessions have concluded and reports from public hearings have been submitted, and that the 1999 Constitution has advanced.
Senator Barau Jibrin, the chairman of the Senate Committee on Constitution Review and Deputy President of the Senate, is expected to deliver the report to the Senate before the end of the first quarter of 2026, he added.
Bamidele urged state legislatures to take the proposals on their merits and that at least two-thirds of the 36 State Houses of Assembly would be required to approve them.
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