Senate Passes N11.074trn Customs 2026 Budget, Okays N1.295trn Expenditure

• Moves to legalise digital healthcare, advances e-Health bill

• Clears Marwa for NDDC, begins screening of Tinubu’s AMCON chair nominee

Sunday Aborisade in Abuja

Senate yesterday approved a revenue target of N11.074 trillion for the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) in the 2026 fiscal year, while also endorsing an expenditure proposal of N1.295 trillion, following the agency’s strong revenue performance in 2025.

Equally yesterday, the senate took a major step towards the digital transformation of Nigeria’s healthcare system by passing for Second Reading a bill seeking to establish a comprehensive legal and institutional framework for electronic healthcare services across the country.

The proposed National E-Health Bill, 2026 (SB. 758), sponsored by Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin, aims to provide the legal foundation for the regulation, coordination, development, and integration of digital health services in Nigeria.

Senate also confirmed Dr. Zainab Marwa as the North-east representative on the Governing Board of Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), and commenced the confirmation process for Mr. Lamido Yuguda Abubakar as Chairman of the Board of Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), in fresh moves to strengthen the leadership of the two key federal intervention agencies.

The approval of NCS’ revenue target came after the consideration of the report of Senate Committee on Customs, Excise, and Tariffs, chaired by Isah Jibrin.

Presenting the report, Jibrin said the committee scrutinised NCS’ 2025 budget implementation before examining its 2026 estimates.

He disclosed that although the service was assigned a revenue target of N6.5 trillion for 2025, it generated N7.2 trillion, representing about 110.5 per cent of its target.

He said the agency’s revenue performance could have been even stronger but for fiscal policy measures introduced to encourage local production, as well as disruptions in global trade arising from the Russia-Ukraine conflict, which affected imports, including wheat.

On budget implementation, the committee stated that while the customs service had an approved expenditure of N1.132 trillion for 2025, it spent about N591 billion during the period.

Jibrin attributed the relatively low budget implementation to delays in securing approvals from government agencies, including the Bureau of Public Procurement, explaining that projects not executed in 2025 would be carried forward into the 2026 fiscal year.

He said the service was targeting N11.074 trillion in revenue next year through wider deployment of technology, improved revenue recovery mechanisms, real-time systems audit, and enhanced trade facilitation initiatives.

The committee chairman also explained that the proposed N1.295 trillion expenditure comprised N421 billion for personnel costs, N307 billion for overheads, and N565 billion for capital projects.

He said the capital allocation would largely fund the completion of the Nigeria Customs Service headquarters and other ongoing infrastructure projects.

Jibrin stated that the agency’s principal source of funding remained the four per cent Free-on-Board value of imports as provided under the Nigeria Customs Service Act.

“The committee, having considered the proposed 2026 budget, recommends that the Senate approve the proposed revenue target of N11.074 trillion and the expenditure estimate of N1.295 trillion for the 2026 financial year,” he stated.

During the debate, the deputy senate president commended both the committee and Comptroller-General of Customs for surpassing the 2025 revenue target while maintaining what he described as prudent spending.

He stated, “They were expected to generate N6.5 trillion but ended up collecting N7.2 trillion. That is a remarkable achievement worthy of commendation.”

Following the adoption of the committee’s recommendations, Senate unanimously approved both the N11.074 trillion revenue target and the N1.295 trillion expenditure proposal for NSC for the 2026 fiscal year.

Senate Moves to Legalise Digital Healthcare, Advances E-Health Bill

Senate yesterday took a major step towards the digital transformation of Nigeria’s healthcare system by passing for Second Reading a bill seeking to establish a comprehensive legal and institutional framework for electronic healthcare services across the country.

The proposed National E-Health Bill, 2026 (SB. 758), sponsored by Jibrin, aims to provide the legal foundation for the regulation, coordination, development and integration of digital health services in Nigeria.

It is titled, “A Bill for an Act to Provide for a Comprehensive Legal and Regulatory Framework for the Development, Coordination and Integration of Electronic Health Services in Nigeria and for Related Matters, 2026 (SB. 758).”

Leading the debate on the general principles of the legislation, Jibrin said the bill had become imperative as countries around the world increasingly embraced digital technologies to improve healthcare delivery, expand access to medical services, reduce costs, and strengthen health outcomes.

According to him, Nigeria cannot afford to remain behind as global healthcare systems rapidly adopt electronic medical records, telemedicine platforms, artificial intelligence, mobile health applications, electronic prescriptions, wearable health technologies, and integrated health information systems.

He stated that despite years of investment in healthcare infrastructure, Nigeria’s health sector had continued to grapple with systemic challenges, including reliance on paper-based medical records, loss of patient information, duplication of diagnostic tests, delayed treatment, and avoidable medical errors.

He also lamented the inability of many healthcare institutions to securely exchange patients’ medical records because of the absence of interoperable digital systems.

The deputy senate president said millions of Nigerians, particularly those living in rural and underserved communities, still faced significant obstacles in accessing specialist medical care due to inadequate manpower and geographical barriers.

He stated that the bill would address the problem by providing a legal framework for telemedicine, enabling patients in remote communities to consult qualified medical specialists without travelling long distances.

The proposed legislation, he said, sought to bridge those gaps by establishing clear regulatory standards for electronic healthcare services nationwide.

Jibrin stressed that the bill placed strong emphasis on the protection of patients’ health information, describing medical records as one of the most sensitive categories of personal data

He explained that the legislation contained robust safeguards to guarantee the confidentiality, integrity, and security of patients’ electronic medical records in line with existing data protection laws.

The lawmaker listed the expected benefits of the legislation to include improved access to healthcare services, especially in rural communities, reduced waiting time in hospitals through digital appointment systems and electronic patient management, strengthened disease surveillance, and faster public health emergency response through real-time health information management.

He also said the bill would stimulate innovation, create employment opportunities, and contribute to the expansion of Nigeria’s digital economy.

Following the debate, Senate overwhelmingly supported the bill and passed it for Second Reading.

The proposed legislation was then referred to Committee on Health for further legislative work before it would return to the chamber for consideration of its report.

Senate Clears Marwa for NDDC, Begins Screening of Tinubu’s AMCON Chair Nominee

Senate, yesterday, confirmed Dr. Zainab Marwa as North-east representative on the Governing Board of NDDC.

The red chamber also commenced the confirmation process for Mr. Lamido Yuguda Abubakar as Chairman of the Board of AMCON.

Marwa’s confirmation followed the adoption of the report of Senate Committee on NDDC after the nominee was screened and found qualified for the position.

Presenting the report, Vice Chairman of the committee, Senator Patrick Ndubueze, who stood in for the committee chairman, Senator Asuquo Ekpeyong, urged the senate to confirm the nominee in line with the provisions of the NDDC Establishment Act.

Senate subsequently approved the recommendation through a voice vote supervised by Senate President Godswill Akpabio.

President Bola Tinubu had forwarded Marwa’s nomination to Senate in May to replace the North-east representative on the commission’s board following the resignation of Hon. Abdulrazak Namdas.

In the letter read at plenary by Akpabio, Tinubu explained that the nomination became necessary after Namdas resigned on March 30, 2026, to pursue his governorship ambition in Adamawa State.

The president said the appointment was intended to ensure that the North-east retained representation on the board and to guarantee the uninterrupted operations of the intervention agency.

While confirming Marwa’s appointment, the senate also received another communication from Tinubu seeking the confirmation of former Director-General of Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Lamido Yuguda Abubakar, as Chairman of the Board of AMCON.

The president said the nomination was made in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (Amendment) Act and was necessitated by the exit of the immediate past chairman of the corporation.

Tinubu urged the senate to give the nomination expeditious consideration.

“It is my hope that the senate will consider and confirm the nominee expeditiously,” the president wrote.

Following the presentation of the request, Akpabio referred the nomination to Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and Other Financial Institutions for legislative scrutiny.

The committee was directed to screen Yuguda and submit its report to the senate within two weeks for consideration and possible confirmation.