The Nasarawa State House of Assembly has passed the 2026 Appropriation Bill of N545.2 billion into law, following deliberations at plenary in Lafia on Tuesday.
The approved budget represents an increase of N27.6 billion over the N517.5 billion proposal earlier presented to the House by Governor Abdullahi Sule.
Announcing the passage, Speaker of the House, Danladi Jatau, described the development as a major legislative milestone, noting that the budget would enable the state government to implement people-oriented projects aimed at driving overall development across Nasarawa State.
According to Jatau, the approved estimates allocate N316.26 billion for capital expenditure and N228.72 billion for recurrent expenditure. He explained that the increase in the budget size was necessitated by the prevailing inflationary pressure, which has significantly affected the cost of projects and service delivery.
He disclosed that security-related votes received an additional N14 billion, while the Ministry of Local Government was allocated an extra N7 billion. The Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism also got an additional N3.7 billion, alongside funding approval for the 55-kilometre Lafia–Kwandere–Garaku road project.
The Speaker commended the House standing committees for what he described as their diligence and thoroughness during the budget defence and review process. He urged the executive arm to ensure full implementation of the budget once it receives the governor’s assent.
“A Bill to authorise the issue of N545.18 billion from the Consolidated Revenue Fund of Nasarawa State for the 2026 financial year has scaled third reading and passed,” Jatau said.
He subsequently directed the Clerk of the House to prepare a clean copy of the bill for transmission to the governor for assent.
Earlier, the Majority Leader, Suleiman Azara, moved the motion for the passage of the bill, which was seconded by the Minority Leader, Luka Zhekaba. The bill was unanimously adopted by members of the House.
Governor Sule had presented the initial N517.5 billion budget proposal to the Assembly on November 26, describing it as the “Budget of Strategic Consolidation.”
During the presentation, he commended the legislature for its consistent support, particularly in ensuring the timely passage of appropriation bills.
