Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan has urged President Bola Tinubu to ensure that the proposed ₦58.18 trillion 2026 Appropriation Bill delivers a measurable and positive impact on the lives of ordinary Nigerians.
Speaking on Tinubu’s budget presentation at the joint sitting of the National Assembly on Friday, the senator described the session as significant but cautioned against an overemphasis on headline figures at the expense of outcomes.
Natasha also warned that fiscal size alone cannot resolve the country’s deep-seated development challenges.
“Of all the lengthy speeches, one line by Mr. President struck me deeply.
“It’s not the size of the budget but the quantum of impact felt by Nigerians,” she said.
The lawmaker acknowledged that while the estimated ₦58.18 trillion spending plan reflects Nigeria’s economic objectives and structural difficulties, residents are more concerned with how government spending improves their daily lives.
According to her, Nigerians expect budgets to enhance living standards through long-term job creation, functional infrastructure, cheap healthcare, quality education, and accessible social services, rather than simply remaining outstanding projections on paper.
She also emphasized that accountability in governance must be shared by leaders and the governed and that public scrutiny is critical to attaining real results.
“Leaders must do better, and citizens must demand accountability,” she stressed.
Akpoti-Uduaghan, a member of the Senate Committee on Finance, has consistently advocated for fiscal transparency, prudent management of public resources, and people-centered budgeting, all of which align with the growing public demand for governance outcomes that are not only measurable but also felt at the grassroots.
Her statements reflected broader worries within and outside the National Assembly about Nigeria’s annual budgets, which, while growing in size, have yet to generate comparable advances in welfare, productivity, and social stability.
On Friday, the president presented the 2026 Appropriation Bill to the National Assembly, forecasting a cautiously growing economy while promising more budget control and tougher revenue enforcement across government institutions.
The president also promised to maintain an unwavering security posture, announcing that all armed non-state actors will be classified as terrorists under his administration’s security philosophy.
Tinubu presented the proposal, titled “Budget of Consolidation, Renewed Resilience, and Shared Prosperity,” and stated that the fiscal framework was intended to lock in recent macroeconomic advances, restore investor confidence, and transfer stability into broad-based prosperity.
He defended the administration’s contentious economic measures, claiming they were starting to show benefits.
Tinubu noted 3.98 percent economic growth in the third quarter of 2025, eight consecutive months of lower inflation, increased oil output, more non-oil income, and regained investor confidence as signs of progress.
However, as arguments over the proposal begin in the National Assembly, lawmakers like Akpoti-Uduaghan argue that the final test of the 2026 budget would be its impact on Nigerian homes and communities, not just macroeconomic data.
