The Senate Press Corps has urged for stronger legislative oversight and deeper collaboration between the National Assembly and the media to check unlawful insertions and other irregularities in Nigeria's annual budget. This call was made by the Chairman of the Senate Press Corps, Taiye Odewale, at a one-day capacity-building workshop organised by the Corps at the National Assembly in Abuja. The workshop aimed to strengthen the capacity of lawmakers and journalists to identify, investigate, and expose questionable budgetary practices.
The controversy surrounding the alleged inclusion of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) in the 2026 budget demonstrated the need for greater scrutiny of the appropriation process. In July, reports emerged that the alleged agency had been allocated N1.3 billion in the N68.32 trillion 2026 budget passed by both chambers of the National Assembly in March and assented to by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on April 17, 2026.
According to Odewale, journalists covering the Senate investigated the allegation and established that the purported N1.3 billion allocation to PFIPC was not part of the N9.853 trillion increase made to the N58.47 trillion budget proposal submitted by the Executive. The Senate's position, as conveyed by its spokesperson, Senator Yemi Adaramodu, during the controversy, further supported the findings of the Senate Press Corps that the alleged PFIPC allocation was external to the budgetary additions made by the National Assembly.
The matter is being challenged by the Executive in court. Odewale stressed that there was an urgent need to strengthen the system and prevent a recurrence of what he described as external and unlawful insertions into the national budget. He urged journalists to deploy their investigative skills alongside the constitutional oversight responsibilities of the Senate and House of Representatives to expose questionable budgetary practices.
The workshop featured presentations by eminent resource persons, including the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu; Executive Director of the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), Mallam Auwal Rafsanjani; Director of BudgIT, Mr Oluseun Onigbinde; and Publisher of Eagle Times Newspaper, Mr Ikechukwu Chukwunyere.
Goodwill messages from key stakeholders in the National Assembly, including the President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, and the Clerk to the National Assembly, Kamoru Ogunlana, would also give journalists deeper insights into the budget process, including lawful insertions, scrutiny, and passage. Their contributions would enable journalists covering the National Assembly to gain a better understanding of the intricacies of the budgetary process and improve the quality of their reporting.
The Senate Press Corps chairman also stressed the importance of technology in modern journalism, saying a technical training on the use of artificial intelligence tools by London-based Adeola Ademokoya of Mass Media TX Limited would strengthen participants' digital skills, efficiency, and professionalism. Odewale expressed optimism that the workshop would equip journalists with the knowledge and skills required to improve their coverage of the national budget and legislative oversight.
Key points
- The Senate Press Corps is demanding stronger legislative oversight to check unlawful insertions in Nigeria's annual budget.
- A recent controversy surrounding the alleged inclusion of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) in the 2026 budget highlighted the need for greater scrutiny.
- The Senate Press Corps is working to equip journalists with the knowledge and skills required to improve their coverage of the national budget and legislative oversight.
