The Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Abubakar Bagudu, has said Nigeria’s limited revenue base is restricting its ability to finance development, warning that the country cannot expect outcomes comparable to nations with larger fiscal capacity while operating with significantly fewer resources.
Bagudu made the assertion on Monday in Abuja at a capacity-building workshop organised by the Senate Press Corps, with the theme, “Leveraging Legislative Oversight and Media Collaboration to Safeguard the National Budget from Unlawful Insertion.”
The minister said Nigeria’s position among the world’s 10 most populous countries should prompt a broader national debate on revenue mobilisation and the size of government spending.
According to him, Nigeria has the smallest national budget among the 10 most populous countries, despite the scale of its population and development requirements.
He said the situation raised questions about whether the country’s current fiscal capacity was sufficient to address its infrastructure, social and economic needs.
“This economy is a small economy, and it will continue to disappoint until we get it right,” Bagudu said.
The minister said Nigeria should examine how to mobilise additional resources to finance development, stressing that the country’s economic ambitions could not be separated from the resources available to government.
Bagudu cited Pakistan, another highly populated country, whose budget he said was about $67bn, but added that Nigeria should look beyond such comparisons and examine countries with substantially larger economies.
He identified Brazil as a more appropriate benchmark, noting that the South American country has a population comparable to Nigeria’s and also operates a federal system of government.
The minister said Brazil’s federal budget was significantly larger than Nigeria’s, questioning how the country could expect similar development outcomes with a much smaller fiscal envelope.
“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,” he said.
Bagudu linked the revenue challenge to the Federal Government’s ambition of building a $1tn economy and the longer-term objectives contained in the Agenda 2050 framework.
He said achieving such targets would require Nigerians to confront difficult questions around revenue generation, public expenditure, borrowing and investment.
The minister also stressed that public confidence was crucial to major fiscal decisions, arguing that citizens needed to understand the rationale behind government’s revenue and expenditure choices.
He urged the media to play a stronger role in explaining the budget to the public while scrutinising government spending and implementation.
On alleged budget insertions, Bagudu cautioned journalists against automatically assuming that every unfamiliar provision was unlawful, saying each item should be investigated based on its origin, purpose, beneficiaries and expected outcome.
He said some provisions that might initially appear questionable could have legitimate explanations when properly investigated.
“Human processes are susceptible to errors. Therefore, vigilance is necessary, and the media and legislative oversight should remain vigilant,” he said.
Bagudu further urged journalists to go beyond identifying controversial budget provisions and examine the constitutional process through which the Executive and National Assembly formulate and approve the national budget.
He noted that the National Assembly has constitutional authority over the budget and called for greater public understanding of the legislature’s role in the appropriation process.
The minister, however, said budget scrutiny should be balanced with considerations of national security where sensitive information was involved.
While supporting transparency and accountability, he urged journalists to ensure that reporting on public finances did not undermine legitimate national interests.
“How careful are we to ensure that, while insisting on holding public officials to account, we do not lose sight of the bigger picture?” he asked.
Bagudu’s comments come amid continuing debate over the adequacy and implementation of Nigeria’s public budgets.
The Federal Government’s 2026 budget was initially presented with total expenditure of N58.18tn, although the enacted figure has subsequently been reported at N68.32tn. The original budget proposal provided N26.08tn for capital expenditure, while projected revenue stood at N34.33tn.
The minister’s argument also comes against the backdrop of Nigeria’s large and growing population. Current 2026 estimates place Nigeria as the world’s sixth-most populous country, with more than 240 million people.
Bagudu therefore called for a sustained national conversation on how Nigeria can expand its economic and revenue base while ensuring that public resources are subjected to stronger legislative and media scrutiny.
