Abuja — Senator Austin Akobundu has commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s 2026 Appropriation Bill, describing it as a strategic framework capable of strengthening efforts to tackle insecurity across the country.
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The Senator gave the commendation on Friday while speaking with journalists after the President presented the N58.1 trillion budget to a joint session of the National Assembly. Tagged “Budget of Consolidation, Renewed Resilience and Shared Prosperity,” the proposal allocates N5.41 trillion to defence and security, N3.56 trillion to infrastructure, N3.52 trillion to education, and N2.48 trillion to health.
Reacting to the presentation, Akobundu said the scale of funding for defence and security reflects the administration’s resolve to significantly reduce insecurity nationwide.
“I applaud Mr President for this budget proposal. Apart from the emphasis on ensuring that efforts will be geared towards ridding the country of insecurity as much as possible—though you can’t totally eliminate it—a large quantity of our resources has been proposed for that purpose,” he said.
The lawmaker, however, stressed that the National Assembly would subject the budget to detailed scrutiny to ensure it is realistic and implementable. According to him, lawmakers will examine critical areas and make necessary adjustments to strengthen effective implementation.
Akobundu also highlighted what he described as a major reform in Nigeria’s budgeting process, noting the move towards operating a single budget cycle.
“One key takeaway is the effort to ensure that we have one budget cycle instead of multiple budgets running simultaneously. By December, the 2024 budget will be closed. About 30 per cent of the 2025 budget should be completed by March, while the remaining 70 per cent will be rolled over into 2026. From April 2026, we will operate a single budget cycle,” he explained.
He added that this approach would ensure that government revenues are channeled into funding one coherent budget, rather than being stretched across overlapping fiscal plans.
On infrastructure spending, the Senator cautioned against passing an ambitious budget that may not align with projected revenues. He emphasized the importance of fiscal discipline to avoid unexplainable deficits.
“There is no point having a budget that looks big, but when matched against expected revenues, it falls short. That creates deficits that are difficult to justify. What we need is a budget that, when passed into law, will be implementable,” Akobundu said.
He assured Nigerians that the National Assembly would conduct a thorough diagnostic review of the budget’s principles and timelines to ensure transparency, discipline, and effective execution.
“With proper guidance and due diligence, we will do a good job and ensure that the final document delivers on its objectives,” he concluded.
