President Tinubu and Nigeria’s National Assembly: Turning Cooperation into Progress For Nigeria and Nigerians.

Admin October 10, 2026 0 Comment Leadership

By Emeka Nwatu, Esq

One of the most valuable achievements of a presidency is the ability to make the institutions of government work together. Citizens experience that achievement when a proposal becomes a workable law, an agreement acquires legal force and a public programme begins to reach its beneficiaries. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s cordial working relationship with the National Assembly deserves recognition on precisely these grounds. The relationship has helped give the Renewed Hope Agenda a legislative foundation and sustained the institutional coordination needed to pursue reform. In my judgment, this capacity to build a productive constitutional partnership is a significant achievement of the administration and a legitimate reason for Nigerians to support its continuation and President Tinubu’s re-election in 2027.
The constitutional basis is straightforward. Sections 4 and 5 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, assign legislative and executive powers to distinct institutions. Sections 58 and 59 provide the machinery for federal lawmaking and presidential assent, subject to the Constitution’s exceptions. Sections 80 and 81 regulate public expenditure and budget proposals. Sections 88 and 89 preserve legislative investigation and evidence-gathering powers. These arrangements require institutions with separate mandates to interact responsibly. [1]

A President needs legislation and lawful spending authority to carry important policies into effect. Legislators need information, implementation reports and executive responsiveness to fulfil their responsibilities. Constructive cooperation helps these obligations converge around the public interest. Its democratic value depends on respect for each institution’s powers and a willingness to subject decisions to examination. This makes the working relationship between Tinubu’s executive and the 10th National Assembly, led by Senate President Godswill Akpabio and House Speaker Tajudeen Abbas, an important part of the administration’s record. It reflects contributions from both sides: presidential engagement, parliamentary leadership, committee work and the participation of legislators exercising their own electoral mandates. [2] The commitment has remained visible. In a statement published on 02 October 2026, the Senate President reaffirmed the National Assembly’s support for the administration’s reforms while referring to separation of powers and checks and balances. The significance lies in the institutional approach being advanced: elected officials can pursue common development objectives while retaining distinct responsibilities. [3]

For Nigerians, the practical advantages of such a relationship are substantial. It reduces the risk that necessary government business will become trapped in avoidable disputes. It creates channels through which disagreements can be discussed, proposals refined and implementation problems addressed. When those channels work, public administration gains a better chance of responding to national needs with continuity and purpose.

Consider what prolonged institutional friction can cost. An education programme may await a legal framework; a wage agreement may require statutory backing; an agency may need an appropriation before it can deliver a service. Political disagreement is inevitable, but leaders have a responsibility to manage it. Tinubu’s record of securing legislative cooperation demonstrates a practical capacity to do so. The student-loan reform illustrates this achievement particularly well. The original legislation signed in June 2023 preceded the inauguration of the current Assembly. The relevant contribution of the 10th National Assembly was the revised legislation to which Tinubu assented on 3 April 2024, following the identification of obstacles in the earlier scheme. Accurate attribution strengthens the case for the present partnership. [4] The 2024 reform removed the family-income threshold and guarantor requirement and provided a clearer framework for education loans covering institutional charges and upkeep. The National Universities Commission recorded the expeditious consideration of the revised legislation by both chambers. Here, cooperation enabled the government to address weaknesses in a policy and improve the legal basis for its implementation. [4]

There is also evidence of delivery beyond enactment. In its statement of 09 December 2025, the Office of the Vice President reported that the Nigerian Education Loan Fund had disbursed ₦86.3 billion to more than 450,000 students across 218 tertiary institutions. These are dated official figures, but they demonstrate the reported scale at which the programme had begun to operate. [5] For a student who qualifies for support, the relationship between executive initiative and legislative action has practical meaning. A legal framework can open access to financing that helps sustain an education. The programme’s long-term value will depend on fair access, sound administration and responsible management of its resources. Its establishment and reported disbursements nevertheless constitute a concrete contribution to educational opportunity.

The national minimum-wage reform provides another example. The 2024 legislation raised the statutory minimum from ₦30,000 to ₦70,000, following negotiations involving government, organised labour and employers. Presidential engagement and legislative action helped give the agreed wage floor legal backing. The cooperation mattered because a negotiated settlement needed to become an enforceable public standard. [6] Higher nominal wages alone cannot resolve every pressure on household purchasing power. Implementation and compliance remain essential. Even with that qualification, the increase is a substantive legislative achievement. It shows how a government able to work with Parliament can convert an agreement on workers’ welfare into a legal obligation, with a basis for demanding compliance from employers covered by the law.

The tax reforms offer an especially instructive example of partnership through deliberation. On 26 June 2025, Tinubu signed four reform bills passed by the National Assembly: the Nigeria Tax Act, 2025; Nigeria Tax Administration Act, 2025; Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Act, 2025; and Joint Revenue Board of Nigeria (Establishment) Act, 2025. Together, they created a revised framework for taxation, administration and cooperation among revenue authorities. [7]The process included public consultation. The Senate Committee on Finance held a public hearing beginning on 24 February 2025, at which the Finance Minister presented the executive’s case. Such engagement matters because fiscal laws affect businesses, workers and governments across the federation. A workable reform must be capable of surviving examination of its likely effects and competing interests. [8] The final legislation also differed materially from the original proposal. The initial Nigeria Tax Bill provided for staged increases in VAT; section 147 of the enacted Nigeria Tax Act retained the rate at 7.5 per cent. The comparison provides a concrete example of a reform proceeding while an important proposed provision changed. Tinubu assented to the resulting package. [9] That outcome supports a credible defence of the administration’s approach. Presidential commitment to reform can coexist with consultation and revision. A leader who sustains a legislative relationship through disagreement helps create room for adjustments without abandoning the wider objective. The value of the tax package must ultimately be assessed through its administration and effects, but securing an enacted framework was an essential step.

Regional development legislation further demonstrates the usefulness of the partnership. On 24 July 2024, the Presidency announced Tinubu’s assent to the North-West and South-East Development Commission establishment bills. Their mandates include reconstruction, rehabilitation and responses to ecological and other development challenges in their respective regions. Parliamentary initiatives and presidential assent together supplied statutory institutions for those purposes. [10] Establishing a commission is an institutional achievement whose promise must be fulfilled through effective work. Its value grows when funding is transparent, projects respond to genuine needs and duplication is controlled. The legislative framework creates a route through which regional concerns can receive sustained public attention. It also provides institutions whose performance citizens and lawmakers can assess.

Taken together, these examples explain how cordiality has helped stabilise governance. Executive proposals, legislative deliberation and presidential assent have converged sufficiently to produce important laws. The stability being credited here concerns the functioning of government institutions: their ability to transact necessary public business and maintain a basis for action during a demanding period of reform. This institutional achievement deserves a place in assessments of national progress. A reform gains durability when it rests on law and a defined administrative structure. Agencies can work from an agreed framework, citizens can identify the obligations government has assumed, and legislators can examine whether implementation follows the purpose of the law. Productive cooperation helps establish these conditions.
Public finance illustrates both the benefit and the responsibility involved. Tinubu assented to the 2026 Appropriation Bill on 17 April 2026. On 30 September, he also assented to legislation providing additional implementation time for ongoing capital projects under the 2025 budget, through 31 December 2026, following passage by both chambers. These actions demonstrate coordination over spending authority while the extensions underline the continuing need for stronger implementation discipline. [11] A sound defence of the administration should acknowledge that distinction. Budget approval creates authority to spend; completed projects and effective services establish what the expenditure achieved. Cooperation is most valuable when it supports realistic planning, transparent releases, careful procurement and rigorous examination of results. Improving those aspects of public finance would strengthen an existing institutional advantage. The same principle answers concerns about legislative independence. A cordial legislature retains its duty to examine proposals, question expenditure and pursue lawful investigations. Public trust grows when lawmakers exercise independent judgment and executive officials respond responsibly. The constitutional powers of oversight remain part of the partnership’s democratic foundation. [1]

Tinubu himself acknowledged the National Assembly’s oversight role in March 2024 while appealing for discretion in the frequency of summons to agency heads. His appeal concerned the balance between scrutiny and administrative work. The proper standard remains clear: officials must fulfil lawful oversight obligations, while legislative procedures should serve accountability and effective public administration. [12]
Opposition voices also have a legitimate place in this process. Their questions can reveal defects, test assumptions and improve decisions. Legislators across parties serve constituents whose interests deserve consideration. A productive relationship is strongest when it gives serious arguments a hearing and judges proposals by their legal soundness, practicality and public value. Credit for the partnership must therefore be shared. Akpabio, Abbas, committee leaders and other legislators have contributed to the laws and institutional processes discussed here. Recognising their work also supports the case for Tinubu: a President’s capacity to engage other elected leaders and secure cooperation around an agenda is itself an important measure of political leadership.
Nigeria’s challenges demand that capacity. Economic hardship, insecurity and gaps in public services require sustained attention. Citizens are entitled to judge government by their lived experience and to expect more effective relief. The achievements identified in this article should be assessed alongside those continuing obligations. Defending the President responsibly means presenting progress accurately and insisting that the institutions supporting it deliver more. There is a persuasive case for building on the foundations already laid. Education loans require effective administration and wider access for eligible applicants. Wage protections require compliance. Tax reforms require clarity and fair implementation. Development commissions require demonstrable results. Each task benefits from an executive that can work with legislators to address shortcomings and sustain necessary action. This is why the cordial relationship carries electoral significance. Nigerians choosing a President are also choosing a leader who must negotiate the constitutional realities of governing. An administration with a demonstrated capacity to secure legislation, accommodate revisions and maintain institutional engagement offers an identifiable leadership asset. That record deserves weight in the judgment voters make in 2027.

The case for continuity should rest on consolidation with improvement. Supporting the Renewed Hope Agenda can properly include demands for greater transparency, firmer implementation and clearer evidence of benefits. Those demands give support substance. They encourage the administration to carry its legislative achievements further into the lives of the people for whom government exists. The elections will determine the membership of the next National Assembly, and no presidential candidate can guarantee its composition or leadership. Tinubu’s experience of maintaining a workable partnership is nevertheless relevant. Whoever Nigerians elect to Parliament, the President will need to engage them respectfully and pursue cooperation consistent with their independent mandates.
My support for President Tinubu’s re-election rests, in part, on that demonstrated ability. The present partnership has helped provide the legal foundations for education financing, stronger wage protection, tax reform and regional development institutions. These are substantial reasons to regard cordial executive–legislative relations as an achievement of the Renewed Hope administration. Nigerians should support the continuation of the Renewed Hope Agenda and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s re-election in 2027 with a clear expectation of stronger delivery. The cooperation that has helped turn proposals into laws can be put to further work in improving services, widening opportunity and addressing remaining hardship. Preserving and strengthening that capacity is a reasoned investment in the next stage of Nigeria’s progress.

Emeka Nwatu is a lawyer and an Assistant Legal Director in the office of the National Legal Adviser and Chief Compliance Officer of the City Boy Movement.

End-Notes

1. Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended. NILDS text updated through the Fifth Alteration. Sections 4 and 5 58 and 59 80 and 81 88 and 89.

2. Current parliamentary leadership. Presidency on Speaker Tajudeen Abbas; Senate President Godswill Akpabio statement. 1 and 2 October 2026.

3. National Assembly commitment to cooperation and checks and balances. Office of the Senate President statement carried by FMINO. 2 October 2026.

4. Revised student loan legislation. Presidency explanation of the 2024 Act; National Universities Commission report of legislative consideration. 4 and 8 April 2024.

5. Reported NELFUND disbursements. Office of the Vice President release carried by FMINO. 9 December 2025.

6. National minimum wage reform. Head of the Civil Service statement on the 2024 Act; Presidency report of agreement with labour leaders. 14 September and 18 July 2024.

7. Presidential assent to the four tax reform bills. Presidency signing announcement; Joint Revenue Board Act in the National Library gazette repository. 26 June 2025.

8. Senate public hearing on tax reform. Finance Ministry statement carried by FMINO. 24 February 2025.

9. VAT provision in the proposal and enacted law. Nigeria Tax Bill clause 146; Nigeria Tax Act 2025 section 147. PDF pages 98 and 91 respectively.

10. North West and South East Development Commissions. Presidency assent announcement. 24 July 2024.

11. Appropriation and budget implementation. Presidency announcement on the 2026 Appropriation Bill; Presidency announcement extending the 2025 budget. 17 April and 30 September 2026.

12. Presidential acknowledgement of legislative oversight. Presidency statement on summons and administrative responsibilities. 21 March 2024.

October 11, 2026

BEYOND THE PUMP: WHY PRESIDENT TINUBU’S FUEL SUBSIDY REFORM DESERVES RECOGNITION

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By Halimat Ahouiza Aliu President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s decision to confront Nigeria’s petrol subsidy problem deserves recognition for ...

October 10, 2026

Beyond the Pump: Why Tinubu’s Fuel Subsidy Reform Deserves Recognition

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By Halimat Ahouiza Aliu President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s decision to confront Nigeria’s petrol subsidy problem deserves recognition for addressing a costly weakness in the country’s public finances. The hardship associated with the adjustment deserves equally serious attention. Higher transport and business costs have placed considerable pressure on households. A fair assessment must hold both realities in view while asking whether continuing the old system would have secured a better future. The case for the reform begins with a simple question: what could Nigeria sustainably afford? A subsidy does not make fuel costless. It transfers part of the price from the buyer at the filling station to the public purse. When that obligation grows faster than available resources, the consequences appear elsewhere: heavier borrowing, weaker public services or less investment in the infrastructure that makes everyday life easier. The World Bank estimated Nigeria’s petrol subsidy cost at about ₦4.5 trillion in 2022. That was a substantial commitment in a country with pressing needs for schools, healthcare, electricity and transport infrastructure. Continuing such expenditure carried a real opportunity cost: resources devoted to maintaining an artificially low pump price could not simultaneously serve every other public priority. [1] The arrangement was also poorly targeted. The World Bank found that the bottom 40 per cent of Nigerians purchased less than 3 per cent of the petrol sold, receiving a disproportionately small direct share of the subsidy. They nevertheless benefited indirectly through transport and other petrol-dependent services. Those indirect benefits explain why removal hurt ordinary people; the uneven direct distribution explains why a blanket petrol subsidy was an expensive instrument for protecting them. [1] This is the economic distinction that matters. Government should support people facing hardship, but support can be designed to reach those who need it through reliable public transport, functioning public services and properly administered social protection. The effectiveness of that approach depends on delivery. Replacing an inefficient subsidy creates an opportunity for better protection; it does not automatically achieve it. Earlier administrations understood the problem and attempted reform. President Goodluck Jonathan’s January 2012 removal was partly reversed following protests. Under President Muhammadu Buhari, price adjustments in 2016 and the removal of the price cap in 2020 were followed by renewed subsidies as regulated prices again fell below supply costs. The historical record therefore calls for fairness: previous governments took steps, but reform repeatedly failed to remain effective. [2] Whatever the intentions behind those reversals, their effect was to postpone an increasingly expensive adjustment. Keeping petrol cheap by transferring its rising cost to government could offer temporary relief while leaving the underlying financing problem unresolved. That is the defensible meaning of postponing the proverbial evil day: the obligation remained, and its eventual resolution became more difficult. Tinubu inherited that difficulty. In his national broadcast of 31 July 2023, he explained that the inherited appropriation did not provide for petrol subsidy beyond June 2023. His administration chose to carry the reform forward. That decision deserves credit because it confronted an established fiscal problem despite the political cost of doing so. [3] Precision about the timeline is necessary. The announcement of 29 May 2023 began the reform; it did not immediately eliminate every implicit subsidy. Subsequent price controls and exchange-rate movements meant that support persisted or re-emerged. The IMF’s 2025 assessment records the abolition of implicit subsidies in October 2024. Tinubu’s record should therefore be judged on the sustained process of reform, rather than on an inaccurate claim that the entire problem disappeared on inauguration day. [3, 11] One important gain is a reduction in the financial distortion that rewarded diversion of subsidised petrol. The World Bank’s public finance review documented how the gap between Nigeria’s subsidised price and prices in neighbouring countries created powerful incentives for smuggling. Moving prices closer to supply costs reduces the subsidy-created opportunity for arbitrage. It cannot, by itself, end smuggling or substitute for effective border enforcement, but it addresses an economic incentive that enforcement alone struggled to overcome. [5] A second gain is greater capacity to finance government responsibilities. In its update of 8 October 2026, the World Bank reported that gross federation revenues increased by 69 per cent in real terms between 2023 and 2025. It attributed the increase largely to exchange-rate reforms, petrol subsidy removal and stronger revenue administration together. Subsidy removal contributed to that improvement, although it was not the sole cause. [6] Because these figures account for inflation, they are more informative than larger cash totals alone. Citizens are entitled to ask how effectively the additional resources are being used. The state-level evidence is especially significant. The same World Bank update recorded an approximately 93 per cent real increase in aggregate state revenue and a 92 per cent increase in expenditure between 2023 and 2025. Capital spending’s share of state expenditure rose from 46 per cent to 61 per cent. Transport infrastructure recorded the largest increase, with additional investment in housing and agriculture. Health, education and social protection spending also increased, although more slowly than economic infrastructure spending. [6] Local governments also belong in this discussion. The Ministry of Finance’s published analysis estimates approximately ₦15.8 trillion in federation-wide gains described as subsidy savings for June 2023 to December 2025, including about ₦6.525 trillion allocated to states and ₦3.88 trillion to local governments. The calculation compares actual Federation Account revenue with a modelled continuation of earlier receipts. It is therefore an official estimate, affected by concurrent reforms, rather than an independently audited account of savings attributable exclusively to petrol pricing. [7] Greater local revenue offers more scope to maintain primary healthcare facilities, improve local roads and drainage, and meet other community needs. Increased resources bring an increased duty to account. Citizens should be able to see what each council receives, what it spends and what it delivers. The promise of subsidy reform becomes tangible when public money reaches the services closest to people. At the federal level, the Ministry’s scorecard reports approximately ₦6.47 trillion in additional strategic infrastructure expenditure over the same period. It identifies the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway, Sokoto–Badagry Superhighway and Trans-Sahara Superhighway among major infrastructure priorities. It also reports spending on student finance, housing finance and consumer credit. These expenditures were supported by a combination of resources, including revenue gains and borrowing; they should not all be presented as funded exclusively by subsidy savings. [8] The broader developmental logic is sound. Well-chosen roads and transport links can reduce travel time, improve access to markets and support business activity. Better infrastructure can also lower costs that a cheaper litre of petrol would leave unresolved. Yet a budget allocation is only the beginning. Procurement quality, value for money, timely completion and maintenance determine whether public investment earns the confidence of Nigerians. Subsidy removal also improves the commercial logic of the downstream market. Suppliers and refiners are better able to plan when prices reflect costs and government avoids unpredictable compensation obligations. As an economic inference, this can support investment and supply diversification, provided competition and regulation are effective. Nigeria’s expanding domestic refining capacity is important in that setting, but projects conceived and built before Tinubu assumed office must receive their proper historical credit. The IMF’s 2026 report recorded reduced refined-fuel imports as domestic refinery production expanded. This is a useful development for the external economy. Its causes include refinery investment and operations, alongside wider policy changes. It would be inaccurate to attribute the entire improvement to subsidy removal or to promise that domestic refining alone will permanently insulate pump prices from international oil prices and exchange rates. [4] Another constructive response has been investment in alternatives to petrol-dependent transport. According to the Presidency’s update of 19 September 2026, more than 120,000 vehicles had been converted to compressed natural gas, supported by over 400 certified conversion centres and more than 90 refuelling stations. The update reported that the Enugu–Nsukka fare on the deployed CNG service had fallen from ₦2,500 to ₦1,500, while the Area 1–Gwagwalada fare on participating Abuja services had fallen from ₦1,500 to ₦900. These are reported results on identified services, not a nationwide reduction in transport fares. [9] The Presidency also reported the commissioning of four CNG infrastructure projects across Lagos, Abuja and Owerri in May 2026 through the Midstream and Downstream Gas Infrastructure Fund. It expressly linked these investments to the response to subsidy reform. Their significance lies in creating infrastructure for an alternative fuel and more affordable mobility. Wider benefits will depend on safe conversions, dependable refuelling and the extent to which lower operating costs reach passengers. [10] The fiscal argument must remain honest about its limitations. In its June 2026 report, IMF staff warned that the estimated savings from the completed removal did not appear to have accrued to the budget in 2025. That concern warrants clear reconciliation with the government’s later published estimates. The Ministry’s estimate compares aggregate net FAAC receipts with a historical revenue trend. It does not independently isolate petrol subsidy savings, so its relationship to the IMF’s concern needs transparent explanation. Better remittance reporting and independently verifiable expenditure records would strengthen public trust. [4, 7] There is also a distinction between reducing a fiscal burden and eliminating borrowing. The Ministry of Finance explains that additional expenditure pressures exceeded the additional resources available. Its assessment is that removal reduced the borrowing otherwise required; it did not remove the need to borrow. The claim should remain at that level. Responsible reform requires continuing discipline over debt, spending and the obligations government undertakes. [8] These qualifications strengthen the case for recognition because they keep it anchored in evidence. Nigeria has recorded greater fiscal capacity and increased state investment, while developing alternatives to costly petrol-dependent transport. Citizens have also endured a difficult adjustment. The President deserves credit for addressing the structural problem and must continue to lead the effort to turn fiscal gains into household relief. The Renewed Hope Agenda will be most persuasive when Nigerians experience dependable transport, improved public services and opportunities to earn a decent living. That requires sustained attention to food production, security, electricity and the quality of public expenditure. Subsidy removal has created room for a more productive use of resources; the work of using that room well remains essential. I respectfully appeal to Nigerians for patience while the remaining effects of subsidy reform are addressed and its gains are translated into more widely shared benefits. The pressure of higher transport, food and business costs is real, and the desire for quicker relief is entirely understandable. The progress already recorded offers a reasonable basis for continued support, provided government keeps listening, expands effective assistance and demonstrates measurable improvement. Nigerians’ patience deserves practical relief and clear accountability at every level of government. For these reasons, I support President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s re-election bid and respectfully invite Nigerians to give his reform programme a fair hearing. There is a reasonable case for continuity: consolidate the gains already recorded, improve the measures that have fallen short and insist on measurable delivery across every level of government. Support can be thoughtful, evidence-based and accompanied by firm expectations of accountability. The burden Nigerians have carried should lead to a lasting improvement in their lives. Recognising the positive consequences of fuel subsidy reform honours that expectation. President Tinubu’s decision deserves applause for confronting an unsustainable system; the next obligation is to make the benefits of that courage increasingly visible in the daily lives of the people. Halimat Ahouiza Aliu, a philosopher, is a Senior Special Assistant to the Director-General on Executive Records and Correspondence, City Boy Movement and wrote from the Federal Capital Territory. End Notes [1] World Bank, Nigeria Development Update, June 2023 Petrol subsidy costs, distribution of direct benefits and effects on households. [2] IMF, Nigeria Selected Issues, Country Report 22/34, February 2022 Earlier fuel subsidy reforms and reversals. [3] State House, National Broadcast on Current Economic Challenges, 31 July 2023 The inherited subsidy appropriation and the 2023 reform announcement. [4] IMF, Nigeria 2026 Article IV Consultation, Country Report 26/125, June 2026 Completion of removal in late 2024, fuel imports and concerns over budget receipts. [5] World Bank, Nigeria Public Finance Review, 2022 Petrol pricing, smuggling incentives and fiscal opportunity costs. [6] World Bank, From Higher Revenues to Better Lives, 8 October 2026 Real revenue gains across the federation and changes in state expenditure, 2023–2025. [7] Federal Ministry of Finance, Underlying Fiscal Analysis, August 2026 Estimated federation gains and their methodology for June 2023–December 2025. [8] Federal Ministry of Finance, Nigeria Economic Reform Scorecard Official accounts of additional spending, infrastructure priorities and borrowing pressures. [9] State House, National Affordable CNG Transit Programme Update, 19 September 2026 Government-reported conversion infrastructure and selected service fares. [10] State House, Commissioning of Four MDGIF Supported CNG Projects, 30 May 2026 CNG projects commissioned on 29 May 2026 in Lagos, Abuja and Owerri. [11] IMF, Nigeria 2025 Article IV Consultation, Country Report 25/157, July 2025 The report records the abolition of implicit petrol subsidies in October 2024.