POLITICS
10th Reps Rollout Six-Point Agenda, Vow to Prioritize Citizens’ Needs
….Reps Six-Point Agenda
By Ubong Ukpong, Abuja
The 10th House of Representatives on Monday, vowed to make Citizens’ needs a priority in all its legislative actions.
Speaker, Dr Tajudeen Abbas, assured of this determination as the 10th Assembly rolled out it’s six-points Legislative agenda, in Abuja.
Speaking at a stakeholders meeting on the 10th House of representatives legislative agenda, Dr Abbas noted that it was through adequate engagements with Citizens that legislators will become the true representatives of the people.
The Speaker, while explaining that the meeting was part of the House desire to have a legislative agenda that listens to the citizens, assured that the agenda would be used as a benchmark to assess performance of the house after four years.
“The House will pay attention to participatory budgeting process and delivery, policy reforms, electoral reforms, women’s participation and inclusion in governance, improved socio-economic conditions”
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” Entrepreneurship, employment, health care, education, infrastructure development, citizens-focused diplomacy, institutional capacity and citizens engagement, constitutional amendment and restructuring”
Abbas urged stakeholders present at the meeting to be willing to suggest ideas that would make the Open NASS project of the 10th House more responsive to the people.
On his part, the House Leader and Chairman of the Ad-hoc Committee on Legislative Agenda, Prof. Julius Ihonvbere, announced the legislative agenda.
He listed them to include “Economic Empowerment and Diversification, Infrastructure Development, Education and Human Capital Development, Healthcare for all; Transparent Governance, Accountability, and Security and Safety of Persons and Properties and Economic Empowerment and Diversification.”
Ihonvbere said that “the agenda, being the vision of the 10th Assembly, would be the fulcrum upon which the 10th legislative’s operation would be based.”
He noted that one of the House’s foremost goals would be to drive economic empowerment and diversification to curb Nigeria’s over-reliance on oil exports which had left the economy vulnerable to fluctuations in global oil prices.
“In the agriculture sector, we will pass legislation to modernise farming practices, improve access to credit for farmers, and support agricultural research and development,” Ihonvbere said.
He noted that the Green Chamber would explore opportunities in agro-processing to add value to the country’s agricultural produce and create more jobs.
“In the technology and innovation space, we will foster an environment that encourages start-ups, nurtures innovation hubs, and incentivises research and development,” the lawmaker said.
The House Leader said that the aim was to position Nigeria as a technology powerhouse, leveraging her young and dynamic population to drive innovation and digital transformation.
He stressed that the agenda was to prioritise renewable energy projects to reduce the country’s carbon footprint, improve energy security and create jobs in the renewable energy sector.
“Our overall goals are job creation, higher foreign exchange earnings, new skills development, diversification of exports and strengthening and deepening our technological foundations,” he explained.
Meanwhile the Executive Director Policy, Legal and Advocacy Center (PLAC), Dr Clement Nwankwo urged the National Assembly to focus more on pursuing the implementation of the legislative agenda.
Dr Nwankwo who spoke during the meeting on the 10th House of Representatives legislative agenda in Abuja emphasized that the recommendation made by the election observation group be adopted to ensure that all election lapses are addressed to forestall future occurrence.
In his presentation, Nwankwo pointed out that citizens are going through hard times to face the realities of the Subsidy removal, insecurity, and other challenges, hence the need to perioritise on citizens needs.
“It is imperative for the 10th Assembly to understand that when formulating it’s legislative agenda it must bring about disciplined expenditure by all arms of government to ensure accountability and responsiveness which is a major citizen’s concern”
He stated that the legislature have a role to play in ensuring that the means of livelihoods in Nigeria does not force unintended consequences on the Masses.” Executive legislative engagement is very key at this time, National security is equally essential as it has great impact in food production so there is need to hold service chiefs accountable to provide security for the citizens ” he stressed
Dr Nwankwo also decried low women representation at the 10th Assembly, “This is totally unacceptable, we expected that cognisant step be taken to ensure more women inclusion in decision making process”.
Participants at the meeting includes ; CSOs, members of the diplomatic community and politicians
By David Torough, Abuja
President Bola Tinubu has signed the Appropriation (Amendment) (No. 4) Bill, 2025, extending the implementation period of the 2025 budget from September 30, 2026, to December 31, 2026.
The amendment was passed by the Senate and the House of Representatives on Tuesday, September 29, 2026, before being transmitted to the President for assent.
According to a statement issued on Wednesday by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, the extension will give Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) additional time to complete ongoing capital projects.
The statement said the move would ensure that funds already appropriated are fully utilised without disrupting critical government programmes.
“The extension gives Ministries, Departments and Agencies more time to complete ongoing capital projects,” the statement said.
“It ensures that funds already appropriated are fully put to work for Nigerians, without disrupting critical programmes.”
Tinubu also commended the leadership and members of the National Assembly for what the statement described as the prompt consideration of the amendment.
The president said the development demonstrated continued cooperation between the Executive and Legislative arms of government in the interest of the country.
The amendment therefore allows the Federal Government to continue implementing the 2025 budget until December 31, 2026, instead of the earlier September 30 deadline.
President Bola Tinubu has submitted the 2026 Statutory Budget Proposal of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) to the House of Representatives for consideration and passage.
This is contained in a letter dated Aug.
20, 2026, addressed to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rep. Abbas Tajudeen and read by the Deputy Speaker, Rep. Benjamin Kalu at plenary on Tuesday in Abuja.In the letter, Tinubu said that the budget was prepared by the Minister of Niger Delta Development in line with the provisions of Section 121 of the 1999 Constitution.
According to him, the proposal was based on the NDDC’s revenue and expenditure forecasts and it aligned with the fiscal and developmental policies of the Federal Government and the Renewed Hope Agenda.
He said that the proposal also took into consideration the 2024–2026 Economic Recovery Growth Plan as well as key assumptions of the 2026 Appropriation Act of the Federal Government.
The President said the NDDC had prioritised programmes aimed at improving youth empowerment, energy and power supply, education, industrial and enterprise development, health and security.
He also listed increased agricultural productivity among the commission’s priorities, saying the interventions were intended to lift a significant number of citizens out of poverty.
Tinubu urged the House to give the proposal consideration and ensure its timely passage.
“I look forward to the timely passage of the 2026 Statutory Budget Proposal of the NDDC by the House of Representatives,” he said. (NAN)
By David Torough, Abuja
The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Sen. George Akume, has charged Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to translate the findings of the 2026 Transparency and Integrity Index (TII) into concrete improvements in their operations in order to strengthen accountability and public trust.
He gave the charge while delivering the keynote address at the presentation of the 2026 Transparency and Integrity Index held at the Auditorium of the Federal Ministry of Finance, Abuja.
The SGF said the administration of President Bola Tinubu, remains committed to open, accountable and responsible governance, stressing that public institutions must ensure that their policies, programmes and actions are transparent, visible and understandable to Nigerians.
According to him, the Index has become a vital instrument for assessing accountability, openness and ethical standards across government institutions, while providing MDAs with clear benchmarks to identify areas of strength and gaps requiring improvement.
He urged heads of MDAs to integrate the findings and indicators of the Index into strategic planning, performance management, budget priorities, procurement processes, staff training and digital disclosure rather than allow the report to become another document left unused.
“The report should not sit on the shelf and should inform management decisions, budget priorities, procurement processes, staff training, digital disclosure, and how you communicate with the public,” he said.
Akume emphasised that transparency should be viewed as an institutional asset rather than an administrative burden, noting that integrity must be embedded in the procedures and culture of public institutions through clear policies, proper record-keeping, effective oversight, ethical leadership and consequences for wrongdoing.
He further tasked MDAs to take advantage of technology by ensuring that their websites and data portals provide accurate, timely and user-friendly information, including current budget, contract and service information, to enable citizens to effectively engage government and track the utilisation of public resources.
The SGF explained that the 2026 TII assesses public institutions in five critical areas comprising fiscal transparency, open procurement and contracting, human resources and inclusion, control of corruption and citizens’ engagement, adding that the initiative complements existing public service reforms, anti-corruption measures and Nigeria’s Open Government Partnership commitments.
He noted that the ultimate objective of transparency and integrity should go beyond institutional rankings to building public institutions that Nigerians can understand, engage with and hold accountable, while safeguarding public resources and improving service delivery.
“The Federal Government remains fully committed to this goal. We will continue building institutions that are transparent, accountable, professional and responsive to the needs of the people,” the SGF said.
Akume commended the Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR) and the Centre for Fiscal Transparency and Public Integrity (CeFTPI) for sustaining the initiative, while calling for stronger collaboration among government, civil society, professional bodies, development partners and the media in strengthening transparency and bringing corruption to its knees.
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