Nigerian Senate Order Paper March 31 2026: Bills and Appointments
The Nigerian Senate was set to consider an amendment to extend the 2025 budget's capital spending deadline, overhaul its internal rules to accommodate new regional development committees, and confirm top appointments to the country's upstream oil regulator. The session also included a report on a new government borrowing programme to fund port rehabilitation and fiscal liquidity.
On Tuesday, March 31, 2026, the Nigerian Senate had a packed legislative agenda led by Senate Leader Michael Opeyemi Bamidele of Ekiti Central.
On bills, the Senate introduced two new pieces of legislation at First Reading: an amendment to the 2025 Appropriation Act and a bill to repeal and re-enact the Standards Organisation of Nigeria Act. The 2025 Appropriation Act Amendment Bill also proceeded to Second Reading on the same day, seeking to extend the capital spending component of the 2025 budget from March 31, 2025 to June 30, 2026.
A major procedural motion sought to amend the Senate's Standing Orders to create new committees, including ones covering the North Central, North West, South East, South South, and South West Development Commissions, as well as committees on Livestock Development and Reparations and Repatriations.
On appointments, a committee report recommended Senate confirmation of Senator Magnus Abe as Non-Executive Chairman of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), alongside two engineering commissioners.
The Senate's debt committee also presented a report on a proposed borrowing programme to rehabilitate the Lagos Port Complex and Tin-Can Island Port Complex, and to support federal fiscal liquidity. The 2026 Appropriations Bill committee report was also listed for consideration.
