• 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.

Veteran journalist Ray Ekpu delivered a heartfelt tribute to his late colleague and Newswatch co-founder, Chief Dan Agbese, on behalf of Newswatch Communications Limited during a celebration of life ceremony held on Monday, December 15, 2025, at Whitestone Event Place in Oregun, Ikeja, Lagos.

The event brought together journalists, public officials, writers, and admirers to honour Agbese, who passed away on November 17, 2025, at the age of 81 following a brief illness. He is survived by his wife, Chief Rose Agbese, six children (including a professor of Mass Communication), and seven grandchildren.

In his tribute, Ekpu described the deep interconnectedness among Newswatch’s four original founders—Dele Giwa, Yakubu Mohammed, Dan Agbese, and himself—likening it to a “cobweb” forged through shared education at the University of Lagos in the 1970s, professional experiences, and a bold decision to launch an independent publication in 1985.

“We moved fiercely from being friends to being founders,” Ekpu recounted, detailing how the trio of Mohammed, Giwa, and himself secured initial funding in London before Agbese wisely suggested naming the company Newswatch Communications Limited to align with the magazine’s title.

Ekpu highlighted the foundational principles that sustained their 27-year partnership: appointing Giwa and Agbese as leaders to affirm their value, equal salaries and allowances for all founders, mandatory column writing, and democratic decision-making through voting, with a casting vote to break ties.

He praised the group’s diversity—spanning different ethnic groups and religions (three Christians and one Muslim)—as a strength that prevented bigotry and fostered harmony. “These attributes increased the acreage of our understanding of each other and limited areas of our disagreement,” Ekpu said.

Ekpu portrayed Agbese as a humble royal who never flaunted his heritage, a calm and decent leader despite being the oldest and most experienced, and a mentor who encouraged clear, reader-friendly writing without grandiloquence or sensationalism.

“Dan’s journalism was admirably simple and simply admirable,” Ekpu noted, emphasising Agbese’s rejection of “guerrilla journalism” and insistence on fact-checking, including Newswatch’s “three-source rule” for major stories.

The tribute also recalled Newswatch’s innovative practices, such as democratised cover story selection, staff performance assessments based on published work, and the introduction of “Preface to Cover”—philosophical essays Ekpu pioneered—as appetisers to main features.

Ekpu commended Agbese’s courage during military rule, when Newswatch faced proscription, detentions, frozen accounts, and trials—including a mutiny charge alongside Ekpu and Mohammed—yet remained committed to credible, investigative journalism.

Reflecting on their enduring friendship, Ekpu said disagreements were resolved swiftly, often within a day, and continued post-retirement in 2011 through a new writing venture. “We are an orchestra: start together and finish together.”

In conclusion, Ekpu urged the family to “rejoice and celebrate” Agbese’s illustrious legacy as a nationalist, patriot, author of several books (one a university text), and iconic columnist whose style is studied in Nigerian institutions. He outlived Nigeria’s average life expectancy of 56 by 25 years and left a profound impact.

Ekpu called on journalists to support the newly approved Code of Ethics and Ombudsman structure by bodies like the Newspaper Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria and Nigerian Guild of Editors as the “best tribute” to Agbese amid challenges from AI and social media.

“My brother Dan, goodbye,” Ekpu closed.

The event featured opening remarks by former Ogun State Governor Chief Olusegun Osoba, who praised Agbese’s character, and tributes echoing themes of integrity, simplicity, and mentorship. President Bola Tinubu and others had earlier mourned Agbese as an “institution” in Nigerian journalism.