Budget 2026: Obasa Charges Lawmakers To Be Thorough, Transparent During Review

Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Rt Hon Mudashiru Obasa, has charged his colleague-lawmakers to be thorough and transparent as they embark on a review of the 2026 Appropriation Bill presented to the House by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu last Tuesday.

Obasa spoke during a three-day budget retreat of the Assembly, holding at the Park Inn by Radisson, Abeokuta, Ogun State, from November 26 to 28.

The retreat, themed “Budget of Shared Prosperity: Enhancing Accountability and Transparency in Lagos State Budget Process”, was attended by all lawmakers, select legislative staff, and senior aides of the Speaker.

Speaker Obasa said with the formal presentation of the ‘Budget of Shared Prosperity’ by Governor Sanwo-Olu, “It now behoves you, as representatives of the people, to do your job with clinical efficiency, empathy, diligence, self-awareness, transparency, and conviction.

The governor has done everything to convince us that they have done a thorough job on the Budget, but it is left to the Assembly to decide how we will go about appropriating the state’s resources to align with the demands and aspirations of every Lagosian.”

Obasa further stated that he firmly believed that waste of scarce resources can be curbed if lawmakers perform their oversight functions effectively.

“But when you pretend like you don’t see what you are supposed to see in the budget or you allow your palms to be greased, don’t forget, you are going back home; you are going back to that community that you didn’t defend or protect its interest when it was important to do so. And it is at home that your political fate will be decided. Let us do what is expected of us, and we will get it right,” he said.

The annual offsite budget retreat, which reflects Obasa’s insistence on a people-centric budget, aims to review and analyse, and ensure the timely passage of the state’s appropriation bill.

Among the resource persons at the retreat were Mr Olufemi Orojimi, the Director of Budget, Ministry of Economic Planning and Budget, who spoke on ‘Understanding the 2026 Appropriation Strategy: Insights from 2025 Budget Performance and Implementation Caps’; Dr Muda Yusuf, Founder/CEO, Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise, who did justice to his papers on ‘An overview of the Medium Term Expenditure Framework’ and Improving legislative Oversight for Budget Implementation: The strategic role of the Lagos State House of Assembly.

With the smoothness of a hot knife through butter, Yomi Olugbenro, West Africa Tax Leader at Deloitte, discussed ‘Navigating Nigeria’s New Tax Regime: Roles and Responsibilities of the Legislature.’

Other facilitators were Muhammad Sani Abdullahi, Director/Clerk, Senate Public Accounts Committee; Olusegun Mojeed, the immediate past president/chairman, Board of Fellows, CIPM Nigeria; and Ifeanyi Peter, National Team Leader, Partnership for Agile Governance and Climate Engagement.