Senate President Godswill Akpabio says the national assembly will continue to work with President Bola Tinubu in the nation’s interest.
He insisted that parliament’s constitutional duty is to serve Nigerians rather than manufacture conflict with the executive.
Akpabio spoke on Tuesday while declaring open the 2026 National Assembly Open Week in Abuja.
He said parliament was established to serve Nigerians and should remain accessible to citizens rather than operate as a closed institution.
“These walls were never meant to keep Nigerians out. They were built to welcome them in — not merely as spectators of democracy, but as its rightful owners,” Akpabio said.
The senate president restated that parliament belongs to the people whose votes created it and not to lawmakers.
“Parliament belongs not to those elected to sit within it, but to the millions whose hopes and votes brought it into existence,” he said.
“Parliament was never built to keep the people out. It was built to bring them in, for democracy flourishes only in the confidence of an informed and engaged citizenry.”
Akpabio said public confidence in democratic institutions could only be strengthened through transparency and accountability.
“Public confidence is earned not by asking citizens to trust institutions blindly, but by embracing transparency and accountability,” he said.
“Parliament should never fear informed criticism. Questions strengthen democracy. Transparency strengthens legitimacy. The more Nigerians understand our work, the stronger our democracy becomes.”
He urged Nigerians to engage more actively with the legislature by attending public hearings, scrutinising its work and holding lawmakers accountable.
“We invite Nigerians not merely to observe us, but to engage with us; not merely to applaud where they agree, but to challenge us where they believe we can do better,” he said.
“A parliament that listens becomes wiser. A democracy that listens becomes stronger.”
Akpabio said the 10th national assembly had passed more than 100 bills in its first three years, describing the feat as unprecedented at this stage of Nigeria’s democratic journey.
He said the legislature had enacted laws to strengthen national security, return out-of-school children to classrooms, modernise the country’s tax system, approve a new national minimum wage, stimulate investment and establish regional development commissions.
The senate president added that the national assembly had approached the screening and confirmation of public officeholders with the seriousness required by the constitution.
He also said Nigeria regained a seat on the executive committee of the Inter-Parliamentary Union after nearly six decades, describing the feat as a sign of renewed international confidence in the country’s democratic institutions.
Akpabio defended the relationship between the legislature and the executive, saying cooperation with Tinubu should not be mistaken for loss of parliamentary independence.
“Throughout these responsibilities, the national assembly has worked constructively with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, in pursuit of national progress,” he said.
“Constructive partnership should never be mistaken for constitutional surrender. Parliament does not prove its independence by manufacturing conflict, nor its relevance by opposing for opposition’s sake.
“Our constitutional duty is to support what advances the national interest, to question what requires scrutiny, and to correct what demands improvement. That is the balance we have sought to maintain, and history, I believe, will judge it fairly.”
Akpabio added that the senate and house of representatives have worked with “uncommon harmony and mutual respect” over the past three years.
Addressing Nigerians directly, the senate president urged citizens to take ownership of the legislature by participating actively in its activities.