The Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Atiku Bagudu, has said that Nigeria’s federal budget is $20 billion, which lags behind the budgets of other populous countries such as Indonesia and Brazil.
The minister made this statement during his address at the launch of ActionAid Nigeria’s Country Strategy Paper, themed “Citizens’ Action Against Poverty and Injustice (2024-2034),” in Abuja on Thursday.
“The federal budget of Indonesia is about $210 billion. The federal budget of Brazil is about $700 billion and has been at that level for a while — for upwards of a decade. Nigeria’s federal budget is currently about $20 billion, with the highest it has reached being around $35 billion.
“Do we want to be like Brazil? Or do we want to be like Indonesia? Can we hope to achieve what they have with that level of federal spending? Or should we confront this reality? Confronting our reality is akin to gathering the family around and reminding everyone that we are not as wealthy as we think we are. Maybe new energy will come into the family, and the sense of entitlement will give way to ‘What can I do? What effort can I contribute?’” he said.
Bagudu called for collective action from both citizens and the government to address what he described as “decades of under-investment” in the country, adding that citizens must engage with the government at all levels to seek improvements.
“And this is where we are now. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu felt that consistent with what is done by other countries and even sub-nationals, and without blaming any leader, we must conclude that we are not where we want to be.
“This situation is not the result of any one person’s effort but rather cumulative decades of under-investment. We must address this issue, and in doing so, everyone matters,” the Minister stated.
In his address, the Country Director of ActionAid, Andrew Mamedu, spoke on the importance of the Strategy Paper, noting that if the current poverty situation in the country is not addressed, it could affect future generations.
“As you may know, nearly 12 per cent of the global population was living in extreme poverty in 2023, and this figure has worsened due to ongoing conflicts, wars, and disasters around the world. In Nigeria, where the poverty threshold is $1.90 a day (about 3000 using the official rate), 133 million of our 200 million people are multidimensionally poor.
“This means they not only lack financial resources but also access to essential services such as education, healthcare, and clean water. If you are not among the 133 million, it is likely that your family members—extended or nuclear—are.
If we do not address this now, future generations may face the same plight. Hope and belief are not strategies; they must be accompanied by action. This is the essence of our CSP,” he said.
