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The President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, on Friday defended the sustained collaboration between the 10th National Assembly and the Executive arm of government, insisting that such partnership is essential for national progress.
Akpabio spoke at a joint sitting of the National Assembly during the presentation of the 2026 Appropriation Bill by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
In his welcome address, the Senate President noted that some critics have described the cooperative relationship between the legislature and the executive as a “sell-out” by parliament. He rejected the view, arguing that history consistently shows that nations advance when both arms of government work together in the national interest.
He cited the United States’ experience under President Franklin D. Roosevelt, where close collaboration between Congress and the Executive during the New Deal era produced sweeping reforms that stabilized the economy during the Great Depression. Akpabio also referenced post-war Britain, where Parliament and the government of Clement Attlee worked in unison to rebuild the country and establish the National Health Service.
“In each case, progress flowed not from unanimity of opinion, but from institutional cooperation anchored in a common national interest,” Akpabio said, adding that great nations are built by leaders who make difficult decisions together, not by perfect conditions.
By contrast, he warned that persistent executive–legislative conflict often leads to stagnation. He cited the later years of the Roman Republic, when power struggles paralyzed governance and weakened institutions, as well as repeated government shutdowns in the United States caused by budgetary deadlocks that disrupted public services and slowed economic activity.
“Across history and continents, the pattern remains consistent: when the organs of state treat each other as adversaries, the nation pays the price; but when they act as partners under the constitution, stability deepens, reforms take root, and progress becomes possible,” he said.
Akpabio stated that it was within this spirit of constitutional partnership that major national decisions such as budgeting derive meaning and momentum.
He noted that over the past year, the 10th Senate had recorded one of the highest levels of legislative output in Nigeria’s history, passing a record number of bills spanning security, economic reform, governance, judicial administration, electoral integrity, infrastructure development, and social protection.
According to him, several of these laws have fundamentally reshaped Nigeria’s reform architecture. He highlighted security-sector legislation that strengthened coordination among security agencies, enhanced intelligence sharing, and reinforced the legal framework for tackling terrorism, banditry, and transnational crimes.
He also pointed to far-reaching economic and fiscal reform bills that provided statutory backing for subsidy rationalization, public-finance discipline, revenue mobilization, and improved accountability in the management of national resources.
On governance and justice, Akpabio said landmark legislation had modernized court administration, improved access to justice, reduced procedural delays, and strengthened the independence and efficiency of democratic institutions. Electoral reforms, he added, were enacted to deepen transparency and reinforce public confidence in democratic processes.
He further said that transformative infrastructure, energy, and social-protection laws had laid the legal foundation for accelerated capital development, power-sector reform, housing delivery, and targeted support for vulnerable Nigerians.
“Collectively, these laws did not merely add to the statute books; they translated reform intent into enforceable policy, stabilized governance, and provided the legal scaffolding upon which national recovery and long-term prosperity can be built,” he said.
However, Akpabio acknowledged that progress must still translate into tangible prosperity for Nigerians, noting that many citizens continue to struggle with the cost of living, unemployment, and insecurity.
He stressed that lawmakers do not view insecurity-related deaths as distant statistics but as personal losses affecting their constituents, reaffirming the National Assembly’s commitment to strengthening legal and budgetary support for security agencies while enhancing oversight and accountability.
The Senate President called on Nigerians to continue supporting the administration of President Tinubu and assured the public that the 10th National Assembly would remain committed to serving the nation with dedication and resolve.
Nigerian 2026 budget: Akpabio defends legislature, executive collaboration, cites global history
