SENATE ASSURES TINUBU OF SWIFT PASSAGE, FAITHFUL IMPLEMENTATION OF 2026 BUDGET. (PHOTO).

Senate Assures Tinubu of Swift Passage, Faithful Implementation of 2026 Budget

The Nigerian Senate has reaffirmed its commitment to collaborating closely with President Bola Tinubu's administration to ensure the swift passage and faithful implementation of the 2026 Appropriation Bill.

Senate President Godswill Akpabio delivered the assurance during a public hearing and interactive session on the 2026 Appropriation Bill, organized by the Senate Committee on Appropriations at the National Assembly complex in Abuja on Monday.

Represented by Deputy Senate President Senator Barau Jibrin, Akpabio emphasized the legislature's dedication to fulfilling its constitutional duties of oversight, accountability, and providing legislative backing for policies that promote economic stability, boost productivity, enhance security, and uplift the welfare of Nigerians.

"The Senate remains fully committed to its constitutional responsibility of oversight, accountability, and legislative support for policies that stabilise the economy, unlock productivity, and improve the security and welfare of our people," Akpabio stated in a speech titled *From Budget to Impact*. "We will continue to work with the Executive and all stakeholders to ensure that the 2026 Budget is not only passed on time, but implemented with fidelity and measurable results."

Akpabio described budget hearings as far more than routine proceedings, calling them essential democratic exercises that compel the nation to reflect on its progress, direction, and resource alignment with national goals.

He acknowledged the severe challenges confronting Nigeria, including persistent inflation, infrastructure shortfalls, unemployment, and ongoing security threats, which he said profoundly impact citizens' everyday lives in homes, markets, farms, factories, and streets nationwide.

"These are not abstractions. They are not theoretical projections. They are the daily realities felt... across our land," he noted.

Despite these hurdles, the Senate President struck an optimistic tone, framing adversity as an opportunity for resilience and transformation rather than defeat. Quoting the eagle's ability to rise on storm winds and invoking economist John Maynard Keynes, "The difficulty lies not so much in developing new ideas as in escaping from old ones", Akpabio called for a paradigm shift from mere spending to smarter, more efficient fiscal management.

"Our task, therefore, is not simply to spend more, but to spend better; not merely to allocate funds, but to convert budgets into outcomes and appropriations into impact," he said. He highlighted interconnected priorities such as fiscal discipline, tax reforms, macroeconomic stability, infrastructure delivery, and robust implementation as foundational to national recovery and growth.

Akpabio praised the Senate Committee on Appropriations for conducting an open, inclusive process that invites public and expert input, underscoring this as a hallmark of democratic accountability.

"By opening this process to public scrutiny and expert engagement, the Committee affirms a core democratic principle: that budgeting in a democracy is not done for the people alone, but with the people," he urged. "Your insights, critiques, and recommendations are not interruptions to governance; they are its oxygen. Engage not as spectators, but as partners in national progress."