Abuja, August 8, 2024 – Nigeria’s federal budget of $20 billion is far behind the budgets of other populous countries like Indonesia and Brazil, the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Atiku Bagudu, has revealed.
Speaking at the launch of ActionAid Nigeria’s Country Strategy Paper in Abuja on Thursday, Bagudu noted that Indonesia’s federal budget stands at around $210 billion, while Brazil’s is approximately $700 billion, a level it has maintained for over a decade.
“Nigeria’s federal budget is currently about $20 billion, with the highest it has reached being around $35 billion,” the minister stated, posing a rhetorical question: “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?”
Bagudu called for collective action from both citizens and the government to address what he described as “decades of under-investment” in the country. He urged citizens to engage with the government at all levels to seek improvements.
“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 said.
The Country Director of ActionAid, Andrew Mamedu, also spoke at the event, highlighting the importance of the Strategy Paper in addressing the country’s poverty situation. He warned that if the issue is not addressed, it could affect future generations.
“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,” Mamedu revealed.
The launch of the ActionAid Nigeria’s Country Strategy Paper comes as the government and civil society organizations work to address the country’s economic challenges and improve the living conditions of its citizens.
