Senate Press Corps Advocates Media Collaboration on Budget Integrity

The Senate Press Corps (SPC), chaired by Taiye Odewale, emphasized the need for stronger collaboration between the National Assembly and the media to prevent unlawful insertions in Nigeria's annual budgets. This call was made during the 2026 Capacity-Building Workshop in Abuja, themed “Leveraging Legislative Oversight and Media Collaboration to Safeguard the National Budget from Unlawful Insertions.” The workshop addressed concerns over the allocation of approximately ₦1.3 billion to the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) in the 2026 Appropriation Act, which was disowned by the Presidency.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu assented to the budget on April 17, 2026, which totals ₦68.32 trillion. The SPC highlighted the importance of journalists understanding the budget process to track appropriations effectively.

Presentations from various experts, including the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, were scheduled to enhance participants' knowledge on budget scrutiny. The workshop also included a session on the use of Artificial Intelligence in journalism.