The Lagos State Joint Public Service Negotiating Council (JNC), Trade Union Side, has issued a strong commendation to Governor Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu for approving a 100% end-of-year bonus for public servants in the 2025 service year and presenting car gifts to outstanding officers.In a press statement signed by Comrade Biodun Bakare, Secretary of the Lagos State JNC (Trade Union Side), and dated December 19, 2025, the council, led by Chairman Comrade Domingo Michael Adeleke, described the initiatives as “landmark milestones” that demonstrate the governor’s deep commitment to the welfare, productivity, and motivation of the public sector workforce.The 100% bonus will be disbursed in two installments: 50% alongside December 2025 salaries and the remaining 50% with January 2026 salaries. The JNC highlighted this phased approach as a considerate measure attuned to prevailing economic challenges, aimed at easing financial pressures during the holiday season and beyond.The council also praised the presentation of car gifts to exemplary officers, calling it a powerful incentive to promote merit, foster innovation, and cultivate a culture of excellence, accountability, and superior service delivery across Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs).These actions, the statement noted, transcend mere administrative gestures and serve as significant morale boosters likely to enhance industrial harmony, employee loyalty, and overall performance. They further underscore the benefits of ongoing constructive dialogue between the state government and organized labour.The JNC reaffirmed its commitment to collaborating with the Sanwo-Olu administration on policies that prioritize workers’ welfare and improve public service delivery. It called on all public servants to respond to the governor’s generosity with heightened professionalism, dedication, and service to Lagos residents.

• President Tinubu at the National Assembly during the 2026 budget presentation, Friday, December 19,2025.

President Bola Tinubu on Friday presented the N58.18 trillion 2026 budget to a joint session of the National Assembly.

Tagged the “Budget of Consolidation, Renewed Resilience and Shared Prosperity”, the proposal seeks to lock in recent macroeconomic gains, restore investor confidence and translate recovery into jobs and improved living standards for Nigerians.

“I appear before this Joint Session of the National Assembly, in fulfilment of my constitutional duty, to present the 2026 Appropriation Bill,” said Tinubu, describing the moment as “defining” in Nigeria’s reform journey.

He acknowledged the pains of reforms over the last two and a half years but assured citizens that “their sacrifices are not in vain.”

The President said Nigeria’s economy was showing clear signs of stabilisation, citing 3.98 per cent GDP growth in Q3 2025, moderation in inflation for eight consecutive months to 14.45 per cent in November 2025, improved oil production, stronger non-oil revenues and rising investor confidence.

External reserves, he disclosed, climbed to a seven-year high of about $47 billion as of mid-November 2025, providing over 10 months of import cover.“These outcomes are not accidental. They reflect difficult but deliberate policy choices,” Tinubu sai.

The tasks ahead are to ensure that “stability becomes prosperity, and prosperity becomes shared prosperity.” said Tinubu.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has sharply criticised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s 2026 Appropriation Bill, dismissing its official theme of “Budget of Consolidation, Renewed Resilience and Shared Prosperity” as misleading and rebranding it the “Budget of Consolidated Renewed Sufferings.

”In a press statement issued on Friday by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Comrade Ini Ememobong, the opposition party accused the APC-led administration of presiding over unmitigated hardship for ordinary Nigerians while the governing elite continues to enjoy affluence.

The PDP challenged President Tinubu’s claim of economic stabilisation, particularly his citation of a 3.98% GDP growth rate.

The party argued that growth figures alone do not translate to improved living standards, pointing to the World Bank’s 2025 Poverty & Equity Brief which indicates that over 30.9% of Nigerians live below the international extreme poverty line.

“This clearly indicates that whatever economic gains exist are not reaching the majority of Nigerians,” the statement read, describing the situation as “growth without prosperity.

“The opposition contrasted the current growth rate with the 6.87% recorded in the corresponding period of 2013 under the previous PDP administration, which it said was driven by non-oil sectors such as agriculture and trade. It accused the President of failing to specify the sectors driving the present growth or identify its beneficiaries, amid widespread hunger and soaring cost of living.

While acknowledging the allocation for security in the 2026 budget, the PDP stressed that funding alone is inadequate without effective and transparent implementation.

It demanded tangible outcomes, including modern equipment, sufficient ammunition, enhanced intelligence, and improved welfare for security personnel, noting reports that non-state actors in various conflict zones possess superior weaponry.

The party expressed deep concern over President Tinubu’s admission that the capital component of the 2024 budget has been extended to December 2025, while the 2025 budget remains operational.

The PDP described this as confirmation of long-standing rumours about the concurrent running of multiple budgets—a practice it condemned as a violation of fiscal discipline, transparency, and accountability.

“This cannot be described as best practice, as every budget has a defined period of operation and no two budgets should operate concurrently,” the statement asserted, calling it “yet another unprecedented negative feat” by the Tinubu administration.

The PDP called for greater transparency and accountability in the management of the nation’s finances, stating that these elements have been “conspicuously absent” under the current government and are essential for rebuilding public trust.