Nigeria’s budget too small for its population — Minister

Nigeria’s budget too small for its population — Minister

The Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Abubakar Bagudu, has said Nigeria’s national budget is too small relative to its population and development needs.

Bagudu made the statement on Monday in Abuja at a capacity-building workshop organised by the Senate Press Corps. He said Nigeria has one of the smallest national budgets among the world’s 10 most populous countries, raising concerns about the country’s ability to adequately fund development and public services.

The minister called for a broader conversation on revenue mobilisation and the expansion of Nigeria’s fiscal capacity. He said the country needs to increase its economic base and generate more revenue to meet the demands associated with its large and growing population.

Bagudu also addressed concerns surrounding alleged unlawful insertions into the national budget. He urged journalists and lawmakers to scrutinise budget provisions carefully, noting that unfamiliar projects should not automatically be regarded as irregular without investigating their purpose, origin and beneficiaries. He stressed that vigilance and effective legislative and media oversight remain important in protecting public resources.

The workshop, themed “Leveraging Legislative Oversight and Media Collaboration to Safeguard the National Budget from Unlawful Insertion,” brought together lawmakers, journalists and civil society representatives to discuss budget transparency and accountability. Bagudu said Nigeria’s ambition of building a $1 trillion economy would require difficult decisions on revenue generation, public expenditure and borrowing.