Nigeria needs wider revenue base, Bagudu says as budget debate grows
Budget Minister Abubakar Bagudu says Nigeria’s public finances are small compared with those of other highly populated countries and its development needs. Speaking in Abuja, he called for a broader discussion on revenue mobilisation, fiscal space and public confidence, while urging journalists to examine budget provisions carefully and responsibly.
Nigeria needs a broader national discussion about revenue mobilisation because its budget is small relative to its population and development needs, the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Abubakar Bagudu, has said. Bagudu spoke in Abuja on Monday at a Senate Press Corps capacity-building workshop on legislative oversight, media collaboration and protection of the national budget from unlawful insertions. He said Nigeria had one of the smallest national budgets among the world’s 10 most populous countries.
The minister questioned whether the country should continue with its current level of spending or seek to mobilise more resources to fund development. Bagudu linked the issue to the government’s Renewed Hope Agenda and Agenda 2050. He said the ambition to build a $1tn economy required Nigerians to confront difficult questions about revenue, expenditure and borrowing.
He also stressed the importance of public confidence and understanding. Citizens, he said, needed to understand the relationship between the Executive and the National Assembly in shaping the budget, while the legislature retained constitutional authority over the national budget. The minister urged journalists to investigate budget provisions rather than assume that unfamiliar items were irregular.
Scrutiny, he said, should consider the constitutional process, the purpose of provisions and their intended beneficiaries. He also cautioned that transparency had to be balanced with national-security and strategic concerns. Figures cited in the source material show that the combined budgets of Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory rose from N27.22tn in 2025 to N40.14tn in 2026, although the capital-expenditure share fell.
The Federal Government’s 2026 budget was listed at N68.32tn.
This independently written report is based on information supplied by the named publisher. Vertrix News has not independently verified the source report.