Nigeria’s economy remains too small for development needs, minister says
Budget Minister Atiku Bagudu says Nigeria’s economy and national budget remain too small to meet the country’s development needs. He attributed the shortfall partly to low revenue relative to GDP, cited Brazil as a benchmark and said the government was pursuing a $1 trillion economy through stronger revenue mobilisation, investment and borrowing.
Nigeria’s economy remains too small to meet the country’s development needs, Minister of Budget and Economic Planning Atiku Bagudu said on Monday. Speaking at a media workshop at the National Assembly, Bagudu said Nigeria had one of the smallest national budgets among the world’s 10 most populous countries. He attributed the situation 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,” Bagudu said. He compared Nigeria with countries of similar population size, including Pakistan and Brazil, and identified Brazil as a particularly relevant comparison because of its population and federal structure. The minister said Brazil’s 2025 federal budget was at least 25 times larger than Nigeria’s.
He questioned how Nigeria could achieve comparable development outcomes with substantially fewer public resources, arguing that the needs of citizens remained present despite the budgetary gap. Bagudu said the Federal Government was working towards building a $1 trillion economy, in line with the country’s long-term development aspirations. He said the target would require increased revenue mobilisation, investment and, where necessary, borrowing supported by public confidence.
He described the national budget as the result of negotiations involving the Executive, the people and the National Assembly, which has constitutional authority to appropriate public funds. He urged journalists to examine questionable provisions carefully and verify their facts before describing them as unlawful insertions. Bagudu said some provisions initially viewed with suspicion had later been found to address genuine community needs.
He also cautioned against judging budget performance only by capital expenditure, noting that salaries, security, debt servicing and other recurrent expenses were necessary for government to function. The minister called for continued cooperation between the legislature and the media to improve transparency, accountability and public understanding of the budget process.
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