We Opted for Cooperation, Not Confrontation, Akpabio Defends National Assembly

 

The President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, has defended the National Assembly against claims that it is subservient to President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

Speaking on Friday in Abuja during the presentation of the 2026 budget proposal to a joint session of the National Assembly, Akpabio said the legislature chose collaboration with the executive in the interest of national development.

“Many in our country view the patriotic collaboration between the National Assembly and the Executive as a sell-out. But history teaches us that nations advance when the Executive and Legislature work together and falter when they are at odds,” Akpabio said.

He cited international examples, including the United States during Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal and post-war Britain under Clement Attlee, noting that alignment between legislative and executive arms enabled transformative reforms such as social security systems, infrastructure projects, and the National Health Service.

“Progress flows not from unanimity of opinion, but from institutional cooperation anchored in the national interest,” he added.

Akpabio also warned against executive-legislative conflicts, pointing to the paralysis of the late Roman Republic and recent U.S. government shutdowns as lessons on the dangers of institutional hostility.

He emphasised that “constitutional partnership, not rivalry or servility, gives national decisions, like budgeting, meaning and momentum.”

His remarks come amid public criticism of lawmakers, particularly the leadership of the Tenth Assembly, who are often perceived as rubber-stamping presidential requests, including loans, without sufficient scrutiny.

Observers noted that the legislators’ rendition of President Tinubu’s anthem, “On your mandate we shall stand,” during the budget presentation, reinforced this perception.

Despite this, Akpabio insisted that collaboration with the executive was a deliberate choice for the country’s progress.