Akpabio urges lawmakers to protect public purse

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The President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, has charged lawmakers to remain committed to protecting public funds, saying the National Assembly owes Nigerians a duty to guard the public purse.

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Akpabio also tasked journalists covering the Senate with setting the highest standard for parliamentary reporting in Nigeria, urging them to deepen their understanding of the Constitution and the rules governing the institution.

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The Senate President spoke on Monday at the 2026 Capacity-Building Workshop organised by the Senate Press Corps.

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The workshop, with the theme, “Leveraging Legislative Oversight and Media Collaboration to Safeguard the National Budget from Unlawful Insertions,” focused on the role of legislative oversight and the media in promoting transparency and accountability in the budget process.

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Represented by the Chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Senator Yemi Adaramodu, Akpabio said the theme of the workshop “goes to the heart of representative government.”

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He said, “Parliament must guard the public purse, the press must illuminate the public record, and both must answer to the Nigerian people from whom all public authority comes.”

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Akpabio urged parliamentary reporters to be thorough and careful in their coverage, noting that journalists must balance the demand for immediate reports with the responsibility to ensure accuracy.

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He said parliamentary journalism “demands and requires being very thorough and careful because while sensational claims are rewarded immediately, careful corrections often reach fewer people.”

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The Senate President stressed the importance of credible reporting in an environment where public officials and institutions are often subjected to intense scrutiny.

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He said, “Nigeria needs reporting strong enough to withstand scrutiny. We face real hardships and disagreements, and the public deserves facts that help us confront them.”

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Akpabio also said journalists should not shy away from exposing wrongdoing, but warned against presenting unverified claims as facts.

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He said, “Exposing failure can be an act of service to the Nation. So can resisting the temptation to present conjecture as fact. Patriotism asks us both to tell the truth about our country and to care what happens to it.”

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The workshop brought together key stakeholders in the budget and legislative accountability process, with the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu; Director of BudgIT, Mr Oluseun Onigbinde; Executive Director of the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre, Mallam Auwal Musa Rafsanjani; and Publisher of Eagle Times Newspaper, Mr Ikechukwu Chukwunyere, making presentations.

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Their presentations focused on different aspects of the budget process, legislative oversight, media reporting and the need for greater accountability in the management of public resources.

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