Akpabio, Abbas pledge NASS’ cooperation as Tinubu presents ₦58 trillion 2026 budget

The presiding officers pledged the National Assembly’s commitment to working with the Executive to ensure that the 2026 budget delivers tangible benefits to Nigerians.

President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Abbas Tajudeen, have assured Nigerians of sustained legislative–executive cooperation and fiscal discipline as President Bola Tinubu on Friday presented the ₦58 trillion 2026 Appropriation Bill to a joint sitting of the National Assembly.

They gave the assurance in their separate addresses at the joint session held at the National Assembly complex in Abuja, where Mr Tinubu formally laid the 2026 budget before lawmakers.

Mr Tinubu told the joint session that the 2026 budget proposes total revenue of ₦34.33 trillion and total expenditure of ₦58.18 trillion, leaving a fiscal deficit of ₦23.85 trillion, which represents 4.28 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product. He said the projections were based on conservative assumptions, including a crude oil benchmark of US$64.85 per barrel, oil production of 1.84 million barrels per day, and an exchange rate of ₦1,400 to the United States dollar.

According to the president, capital expenditure is projected at ₦26.08 trillion, while recurrent non-debt expenditure stands at ₦15.25 trillion. He said the spending framework reflects the administration’s determination to balance fiscal prudence with the urgent need for growth-enhancing investments across critical sectors of the economy.

In his welcome address, Mr Akpabio said the joint sitting was not merely a constitutional ritual but “a defining national conversation” about Nigeria’s priorities, leadership responsibilities, and collective resolve to build a stronger and more just future.

Welcoming President Tinubu, Mr Akpabio described the National Assembly as the president’s “political birthplace” and the crucible in which his leadership was tested and refined.

He also extended warm felicitations to Vice President Kashim Shettima, noting his shared legislative history with the parliament, and welcomed members of the Federal Executive Council, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, and other members of the presidential entourage.

The senate president said the president’s presence before parliament underscored the essence of democratic governance, where progress is achieved through accountability, institutional engagement, and courageous leadership.

He dismissed criticisms that close collaboration between the National Assembly and the Executive amounts to legislative compromise, arguing that history consistently shows that nations advance when both arms of government work in concert.

Drawing lessons from global history, Mr Akpabio cited the cooperation between the United States Congress and President Franklin D. Roosevelt during the New Deal era and the post-war partnership between Britain’s parliament and the government of Clement Attlee as examples of how institutional alignment delivered lasting national transformation.

He warned that prolonged executive–legislative hostility often leads to stagnation, citing the collapse of the Roman Republic and repeated government shutdowns in the United States as cautionary tales.

He acknowledged the economic and social pressures Nigerians have faced over the past year, including rising living costs, insecurity, and concerns among young people about opportunity and fairness. However, he said Nigeria has historically confronted adversity with resilience rather than retreat.

Mr Akpabio said the 10th Senate has recorded one of the highest levels of legislative output in Nigeria’s history over the past year, passing landmark bills on security, economic reform, governance, judicial administration, electoral integrity, infrastructure development, and social protection.

He said these laws have strengthened security coordination, improved fiscal accountability, modernised judicial processes, enhanced electoral transparency, and laid a legal foundation for long-term growth.

Despite these gains, the senate president said progress must still be translated into broad-based prosperity, stressing that insecurity and unemployment remain pressing concerns. He assured Nigerians that the National Assembly would continue to strengthen legal and budgetary frameworks for security, enhance oversight, and work closely with the Executive to address the root causes of insecurity.

Speaker Tajudeen, in his remarks, thanked President Tinubu for personally presenting the budget and said the occasion represented democracy at its strongest, anchored on partnership rather than proclamation.

Reflecting on the outgoing fiscal year, he said 2025 marked a period of regained stability and renewed confidence but also offered important lessons. He noted that volatility in global oil markets exposed the risks of overly optimistic assumptions on crude oil prices and exchange rates, reinforcing the need for realism, discipline, and revenue diversification in budgeting.

He said these lessons have shaped the 2026 budget, which he described as more deliberate, realistic, and results-oriented. Citing data from the National Bureau of Statistics, Mr Tajudeen said Nigeria recorded positive growth throughout 2025, with real GDP growth approaching four per cent, placing the country among the stronger-performing large economies in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The speaker said inflationary pressures have eased following the rebasing of the Consumer Price Index, while food inflation declined due to improved agricultural output and more stable supply chains. He added that external indicators, including foreign exchange reserves, remittance inflows, and export receipts, have strengthened, with international institutions acknowledging Nigeria’s restored macroeconomic credibility.

Mr Tajudeen said the challenge for 2026 is to ensure growth into jobs, higher incomes, and expanded opportunity, while fiscal discipline delivers fairness, efficiency, and visible impact. He welcomed the president’s directive that Nigeria should operate with one budget and a single fiscal framework, saying it would eliminate parallel budgets, fragmented spending windows, and fiscal disorder.

He also underscored the centrality of security to development, noting that the administration’s emergency posture on security, backed by recruitment, training, welfare improvements, and enhanced intelligence coordination, is rightly prioritised in the 2026 budget. He assured that the National Assembly would ensure that security allocations translate into tangible improvements in safety nationwide.

He further highlighted the significance of new tax laws scheduled for implementation in 2026, describing them as critical to broadening the tax base, improving equity, reducing leakages, and strengthening non-oil revenues.

On behalf of the National Assembly, the speaker assured Nigerians that lawmakers would consider the 2026 Appropriation Bill with urgency, diligence, and patriotism, supporting reforms that advance the national interest while insisting on accountability and value for money.

“To Nigerians watching, the message of this budget is clear,” Mr Tajudeen said. “Stability has been restored, confidence rebuilt, fiscal order strengthened, and the foundations for shared prosperity firmly laid.”

The joint sitting concluded with both presiding officers reiterating the National Assembly’s commitment to working with the Executive to ensure that the 2026 budget delivers tangible benefits to Nigerians across the federation.