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.

Adams Oshiomhole, senator representing Edo North and former national chairman of the All Progressives Congress, has questioned the fitness of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar to lead Nigeria, following Abubakar’s decision to join the African Democratic Congress.

Oshiomhole issued the criticism on Monday during an interview on Politics Today, a Channels Television programme, shortly after Abubakar publicly confirmed his membership of the ADC. The former vice-president had earlier shared a photograph of himself holding his party card on X with the caption: “It’s official.”

The senator argued that Abubakar’s long-running difficulty in stabilising the Peoples Democratic Party undermines his present bid to reposition the country. According to him, the former vice-president has failed to demonstrate the capacity to provide direction within the PDP, despite decades of political influence.

Oshiomhole said, “If Atiku as a former vice-president under PDP could not fix PDP, he could not reconstruct it, and he could not provide leadership and use his influence which he had built, how can you lay claim to fix Nigeria?”

He linked Abubakar’s latest move to a pattern of political withdrawals, recalling that the former vice-president had also quit the APC after failing to secure its presidential ticket. Oshiomhole maintained that Abubakar only returned to the PDP for electoral purposes, yet “could not build” the party that once elevated him to the position of vice-president.

He added, “He was once a member of the APC. He left because he lost the party’s presidential ticket. He went back to the PDP. He’s so much in love with the PDP, at least for the purpose of contesting election. He could not build PDP. So, if Atiku can’t build the PDP that made him vice-president, he can’t fix Nigeria.”

Abubakar’s defection to the ADC follows his resignation from the PDP in July, after months of internal disputes that left the opposition party fractured ahead of the 2027 elections.

The Nafiu Bala-led faction of the African Democratic Congress has distanced itself from former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s registration in Adamawa State, maintaining that he is not formally acknowledged as a member of the party.

The clarification followed shortly after Atiku publicly received his ADC membership card at the Jada 1 Ward in Adamawa.

In a statement released in Abuja, the ADC Director of Media and Public Affairs, Christopher Okechukwu, said the registration carried out in Adamawa did not comply with recognised party processes and therefore lacked legitimacy.

Okechukwu explained that “This registration was conducted by individuals not recognised by the ADC’s National Headquarters and therefore lacked authority to register new members.”

He added that the party had repeatedly advised Atiku to complete his membership process with the constitutionally recognised ward executives in his area, a step he had not yet taken.

The faction further cautioned that Atiku’s actions might be tied to a “broader strategy to leverage the ADC while awaiting reconciliation with the Peoples Democratic Party,” saying similar political patterns had been observed in the past.

Okechukwu urged the former vice president to adhere to established procedures, stressing that the ADC “is not a vehicle for personal ambition but a movement committed to democratic renewal,” while assuring him that full membership privileges would be available once his registration is completed through the appropriate ward structure.

The statement emerged amid an ongoing leadership tussle in the ADC, with the legitimacy of David Mark’s national leadership currently before the Federal High Court—an issue the faction insists must be resolved before coalition partners, including Atiku’s allies, can be integrated.

Atiku’s decision came months after he resigned from the Peoples Democratic Party in July, accusing it of straying from its founding principles. On Monday, he declared that “the real opposition has begun” as he proudly picked up his ADC membership card in Adamawa.

“Now I have picked up my membership card of the ADC. Now, the real opposition has begun. We will chase the APC out of government,” he said.

His registration exercise was overseen by the Adamawa ADC chairman, Shehu Yohanna, alongside the ADC Registration and Mobilisation Committee, with notable political figures—including former Governor Bindow Jibrilla and Senator Aishatu Binani—present during the event, signalling a significant development ahead of the 2027 elections.

Atiku’s move aligns with a broader opposition coalition featuring Labour Party’s Peter Obi, former Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi, former Kaduna State Governor Nasir el-Rufai, ex-SGF Babachir Lawal, and other political heavyweights who had previously agreed to adopt the ADC as a collective platform to challenge the ruling APC.

However, the sharp resistance from the ADC factional leadership suggests that Atiku’s membership status may now become another source of internal friction within the emerging opposition alliance.