The Advokc Foundation has warned that the 10th Senate is drifting toward failure, saying the upper chamber risks being remembered for unfulfilled promises and weak legislative leadership two years into its tenure.

In a statement issued in Abuja, the organisation’s spokesperson, Mr. Habib Seidu, said the Senate under Senator Godswill Akpabio has not matched its commitments with action, noting that the chamber’s performance “falls far below expectations.”

Seidu said: “If the current trajectory holds, Nigerians will settle for the 10th Senate being remembered as a spectacle of stagnation, not a serious reforming chamber.”

The Foundation faulted the handling of allegations raised by Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan against the Senate President, saying the decision to suspend her for six months instead of initiating an independent inquiry amounted to silencing a whistle-blower. It noted that the suspension triggered nationwide “We Are All Natasha” protests, which it said highlighted public frustration with the Senate’s approach to accountability.

It also criticised what it described as stalled reforms in key sectors, citing the failure to raise health-sector funding to the 15 per cent Abuja Declaration benchmark, the delay in passing the Special Seats Bill for women, lack of movement on electoral reforms, and the continued stagnation of the Gas Flaring (Prohibition and Punishment) Bill.

According to the Foundation, the refusal of the Senate to pass the Audit Bill has enabled persistent financial leakages. It referenced the Auditor-General’s 2019 and 2020 reports, which highlighted misappropriated funds totalling ₦103.8 billion and $950,912.05 across 31 ministries, departments and agencies. It said the passage of the bill could generate ₦720 billion in economic benefits over five years through recovered revenue and improved compliance.

The Foundation said its Promise Tracker NG platform shows that only one out of 28 tracked legislative commitments—live streaming of plenary—has been fulfilled. It added that 82 per cent of promises have not been tabled or discussed.

“When a legislature is more comfort-driven than reform-driven, it becomes what Nigerians now see: reform-proof,” Seidu said.

Despite the criticism, the Foundation noted that the Senate still has time to change course. It urged the chamber to set clear timelines for pending bills, prioritise the Audit Bill and Special Seats Bill, increase health allocation, and enhance public participation through digital access to proceedings.

It warned that if these steps are not taken, “the story of the 10th Senate will be written not in laws passed but in controversies remembered—a chamber that promised reform but delivered theatre.”