Nigeria’s budget is too small for meaningful development – Budget Minister, Bagudu

The Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Abubakar Bagudu, has argued that the current national budget is too small to achieve the level of development desired by the country and its citizens.

Speaking at the 2026 Senate Press Corps Workshop in Abuja on Monday, the minister challenged Nigerians, lawmakers and the media to rethink the country’s approach to budgeting, adding, that the Federal Government’s ambition to build a $1 trillion economy cannot be separated from the size and structure of the national budget.

He claimed Nigeria “has the smallest national budget among the 10 most populous countries in the world,” and warned that the country should not expect to achieve the same development results as countries with much greater fiscal capacity.

Therefore, he said the debate over the national budget should go beyond accusations of unlawful diversion of funds and focus on more fundamental questions about what Nigeria’s national budget should be, and what level of resources the country needs to achieve its development ambitions.

According to him, Nigerians face a choice between simply budgeting within their means and developing the confidence, policies and public support needed to mobilize more resources for economic transformation.

Bagudu said the second option would require Nigerians to understand the country’s fiscal limitations and support the tough decisions needed to increase government revenue, investment and borrowing capacity.

He said the Federal Government’s ambition to build a $1 trillion economy cannot be separated from the size and structure of the national budget.

“The national budget should be a product of that imagination,” Bagudu said, referring to the government’s development ambitions.

He argued that countries that have successfully transformed their economies have made deliberate choices to overcome existing limitations.

On borrowing, he added: “If the people do not support borrowing, the National Assembly will not allow borrowing.”

The Minister therefore urged the media to take a more active role in explaining Nigeria’s fiscal position to the public and interrogate how other countries have developed their economies.