Bagudu: Nigeria cannot deliver Brazil level development with smaller budget
Nigeria’s economy remains too small to finance the scale of development demanded by its population, the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Atiku Bagudu, has said, warning that the country will continue to fall short of expectations unless it expands its economic and revenue base.
Bagudu spoke on Monday at a media workshop at the National Assembly, where he argued that Nigeria’s limited public resources remained a major constraint on infrastructure, public services and other development priorities.
“This economy is a small economy, and it will continue to disappoint until we get it right,” he said.
The minister said Nigeria has one of the smallest national budgets among the world’s 10 most populous countries, partly because of its relatively low revenue-to-GDP ratio.
Drawing comparisons with other populous countries, Bagudu said Pakistan operates a budget of about $67bn, while Brazil offered a particularly useful comparison because of its similar population size and federal system of government.
According to him, Brazil’s 2025 federal budget was at least 25 times larger than Nigeria’s, raising questions over expectations that both countries should deliver comparable development outcomes.
“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 said the Federal Government was working towards building a $1tn economy, adding that achieving the target would require greater revenue mobilisation, increased investment and, where necessary, borrowing supported by public confidence.
On the budget process, the minister said the national budget reflected negotiations involving the executive, citizens and the National Assembly, which has constitutional responsibility for appropriating public funds.
He urged journalists to scrutinise budget provisions but cautioned against describing questionable items as unlawful insertions without first establishing their purpose.
Bagudu said some provisions initially regarded with suspicion had subsequently been found to address legitimate community needs.
He also warned against measuring budget performance solely through capital expenditure, arguing that recurrent spending, including salaries, security costs and debt servicing, remained necessary for the functioning of government.
The minister called for stronger cooperation between the legislature and the media to improve transparency, accountability and public understanding of Nigeria’s budget process.