By Ade Oyeyemi
Senate President Godswill Akpabio has urged members of the National Assembly to remain committed to protecting public funds and ensuring that government resources are managed in the interest of Nigerians.
Akpabio also called on journalists covering the Senate to strengthen their knowledge of the Constitution and parliamentary procedures to improve the quality and accuracy of legislative reporting.
The Senate President spoke on Monday at the 2026 Capacity-Building Workshop organised by the Senate Press Corps.
The workshop, themed, “Leveraging Legislative Oversight and Media Collaboration to Safeguard the National Budget from Unlawful Insertions,” examined the roles of lawmakers and the media in promoting transparency and accountability in the budget process.
Akpabio, who was represented by the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Senator Yemi Adaramodu, described the theme as central to the principles of representative government.
He said lawmakers had a responsibility to protect the public purse, while journalists were expected to provide Nigerians with accurate information on how public resources were appropriated and managed.
“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,” Akpabio said.
The Senate President urged parliamentary correspondents to approach their duties with diligence, caution and a proper understanding of legislative proceedings.
He warned that the pressure to publish quickly should not compromise accuracy, noting that sensational claims could spread rapidly before corrections reached the same audience.
“Nigeria needs reporting strong enough to withstand scrutiny. We face real hardships and disagreements, and the public deserves facts that help us confront them,” he said.
Akpabio said journalists should continue to expose failures and wrongdoing but urged them to distinguish verified information from speculation.
“Exposing failure can be an act of service to the Nation. So can resisting the temptation to present conjecture as fact,” he said.
The workshop brought together stakeholders involved in budgeting, legislative oversight and public accountability.
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Among those who made presentations were the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu; BudgIT Director, Oluseun Onigbinde; Executive Director of the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre, Auwal Musa Rafsanjani; and the Publisher of Eagle Times Newspaper, Ikechukwu Chukwunyere.
The speakers examined various aspects of Nigeria’s budget process, legislative oversight and media responsibility, with emphasis on strengthening transparency and accountability in the management of public resources.
