Introduction
The first half of 2026 has been one of the busiest legislative windows since the 10th National Assembly was inaugurated in June 2023. By the Assembly’s third anniversary, the House of Representatives had considered about 2,747 bills and passed 363 of them, according to the Chairman of its Committee on Rules and Business, while the Speaker put the number of bills that had received presidential assent since 2023 at 72. Figures for the Senate are less settled: at the Assembly’s mid-term, its own leadership gave differing tallies, 96 bills passed out of 844 received, by one account, and 108 out of 983 by another. The divergence is itself instructive: raw bill counts should be read with caution, and the quality and durability of legislation matter far more than its volume.
Specifically, within the January–July 2026 window, the story is one of consequential, and at times self-correcting, law-making across almost every sphere of national life. A repealed and re-enacted Electoral Act was signed into law in February, eleven months ahead of the general elections now fixed for 16 January and 6 February 2027. A ₦68.32 trillion federal budget received assent in April, alongside an extension of the 2025 capital budget, followed by a second extension passed by both Chambers in June. The Federal Capital Territory’s own ₦2.285 trillion statutory appropriation cleared the Senate at third reading in May, heading for assent. A new digital-identity statute was signed in late June. Meanwhile, the most far-reaching tax overhaul in a generation, four reform Acts signed in June 2025, came into force on 1 January 2026 and completed its first seven months of real-world operation. On State Police, the Senate passed the Executive’s constitution-alteration bill on 24 June, and the House, after rescinding its own June version in mid-July, passed the same Executive text on 23 July 2026. The President also declined assent to two bills on drafting and mandate grounds.
Law-making in Nigeria is a constitutional relay, not a single act. Under section 58 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), a Bill passed by both Chambers is transmitted to the President, who must signify assent or the withholding of assent within thirty days (s.58(4)). Crucially, a presidential veto is not the end of the road: under s.58(5), the National Assembly may pass the bill again by a two-thirds majority of each Chamber, in which case it becomes law without presidential assent. Constitutional alterations follow the stricter route in section 9, requiring super-majorities in the National Assembly and ratification by at least twenty-four of the thirty-six State Houses of Assembly.
How to read this Review: Entries are organised by status: Acts assented; reforms now in force; the constitutional alteration; bills passed or advancing and awaiting next steps; bills at earlier stages; and bills on which assent was withheld. Statuses have been cross-checked against the official Order Papers of both Chambers. Each entry opens with a plain-English “in brief” summary and closes with a practical “what this means for you” note, so that both practitioners and general readers can take something concrete away.
Download the full Scorecard here
Authored by Ifeoma Ben and Emeka Lawrence, Okwuokie
