The senator representing Kogi Central, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, has called on President Bola Tinubu to ensure that the proposed ₦58.18 trillion 2026 Appropriation Bill delivers tangible benefits that directly improve the lives of Nigerians.
Reacting to the President’s presentation of the budget to a joint sitting of the National Assembly on Friday, Akpoti-Uduaghan described the session as important but warned against focusing on headline figures at the expense of real outcomes.
She said the sheer size of the budget alone would not resolve Nigeria’s long-standing development challenges if it fails to translate into meaningful improvements for citizens.
“Of all the lengthy speeches, one line by Mr President struck me deeply. It is not the size of the budget but the quantum of impact felt by Nigerians,” the senator said.
According to her, while the ₦58.18 trillion spending plan reflects the scale of Nigeria’s economic ambitions and structural deficits, Nigerians are more concerned about how public funds will improve their daily lives.
She noted that citizens expect budgets to produce visible results such as sustainable job creation, functional infrastructure, affordable healthcare, quality education and accessible social services.
Akpoti-Uduaghan also stressed the importance of accountability, saying it must be upheld not only by leaders but also demanded by the governed.
“Leaders must do better, and citizens must demand accountability,” she said.
A member of the Senate Committee on Finance, the lawmaker has consistently advocated fiscal transparency, prudent management of public resources and people-centred budgeting, positions she said align with growing public demand for governance outcomes that are measurable and felt at the grassroots.
Her comments echo wider concerns within and outside the National Assembly that Nigeria’s expanding annual budgets have yet to deliver proportional improvements in welfare, productivity and social stability.
President Tinubu on Friday presented the 2026 Appropriation Bill to the National Assembly, projecting a cautiously improving economy and pledging stricter budget discipline and stronger revenue enforcement across government agencies.
He also vowed a firm security approach, declaring that all armed non-state actors would be treated as terrorists under his administration’s security doctrine.
Presenting the proposal, titled Budget of Consolidation, Renewed Resilience and Shared Prosperity, the President said the fiscal framework was designed to consolidate recent macroeconomic gains, restore investor confidence and translate stability into broad-based prosperity.
He defended the administration’s economic reforms, citing 3.98 per cent economic growth in the third quarter of 2025, eight consecutive months of easing inflation, improved oil output, stronger non-oil revenues and renewed investor confidence as indicators of progress.
However, as deliberations begin in the National Assembly, lawmakers such as Akpoti-Uduaghan insist that the true test of the 2026 budget will lie not in macroeconomic statistics alone, but in its real-world impact on Nigerian households and communities.
