BAGUDU CALLS FOR LARGER BUDGET TO FUND DEVELOPMENT

The Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Abubakar Bagudu, has called for a broader discussion on revenue mobilisation, saying Nigeria needs a larger national budget to meet its development needs.

Bagudu made the remarks at a Senate Press Corps capacity-building workshop in Abuja, where he said Nigeria has one of the smallest national budgets among the world’s 10 most populous countries.

He said the country’s limited fiscal space raised questions about whether current public spending was sufficient to achieve its development objectives.

According to the minister, Nigeria needs to consider how to mobilise more resources while maintaining public confidence in government decisions on revenue, expenditure and borrowing.

Bagudu also linked the discussion to the Federal Government’s ambition of building a $1tn economy, saying achieving the target would require stronger resource mobilisation and investment.

He urged journalists to scrutinise budget provisions carefully and investigate their origins, purposes and beneficiaries before describing any provision as unlawful.

The minister also highlighted the constitutional role of the National Assembly in approving the national budget and called for stronger collaboration between the legislature and the media.

He said budget transparency should be balanced with considerations of national security and strategic interests, while maintaining accountability and the public’s right to information.

Nigeria’s 2026 Federal Government budget is N68.32tn, according to figures cited by PUNCH.