THE Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Atiku Bagudu, says Nigeria’s economy remains too small to meet the country’s development needs.
The minister stated this on Monday at the National Assembly, noting that without the right economic choices, the nation’s economy would continue to fall short of citizens’ expectations.
News Point Nigeria reports that speaking at a media workshop, Bagudu said Nigeria has one of the smallest national budgets among the world’s ten most populous countries, a situation he attributed partly to the country’s low revenue-to-GDP ratio.
“This economy is a small economy, and it will continue to disappoint until we get it right,” he said.
Bagudu compared Nigeria with countries of similar population size, citing Pakistan and Brazil as examples.
He said while Pakistan’s budget is about $67 billion, Brazil provides a more relevant benchmark for Nigeria, given its comparable population and federal structure.
According to him, Brazil’s 2025 federal budget is at least 25 times larger than Nigeria’s.
The minister questioned how Nigeria could be expected to deliver comparable development outcomes with significantly fewer resources.
“Do I expect to achieve the same outcomes as Brazil with a much smaller budget? Is it that these needs do not exist? I believe they do.”
Bagudu added that the Federal Government is working towards building a $1 trillion economy in line with the country’s long-term development aspirations.
He said achieving the target would require increased revenue mobilisation, investment and, where necessary, borrowing backed by public confidence.
On the national budget, the minister described it as the product of negotiations between the Executive, the people and the National Assembly, which he said has the constitutional authority to appropriate public funds.
He urged the media to help Nigerians understand the rationale behind budget provisions and properly verify questionable items before declaring them unlawful insertions.
Bagudu cited instances where provisions initially viewed with suspicion were found to address genuine community needs.
He urged journalists to interrogate questionable budget provisions while verifying the facts behind them.
The minister also cautioned against assessing budget performance solely on capital expenditure, noting that recurrent expenditure, salaries, security and debt servicing are equally necessary to keep government functioning.
He called for sustained collaboration between the legislature and the media to promote transparency, accountability and informed public understanding of Nigeria’s budget process.