The Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Atiku Bagudu has alleged that Nigeria is not as wealthy as some Nigerians perceive it to be. He argued that the Nation do not have the revenue to reach the highest level as demanding from It citizens. He cited the 2024 budget as an example, he highlighted that the budget amounts to about 20 billion dollars when the 28 trillion naira in the budget is being converted.
He noted that the current budget size mirrors what might have been seen two decades ago. He drew a comparison with Brazil, a country with a similar population but a vastly larger federal budget of no less than 700 billion dollars. He questioned whether the country could aspire to compete with Brazil, given the substantial disparity in spending. He argued that the Nation struggles to allocate sufficient funds for security and capital development due to this budgetary limitation.
He said in an interview with Channels TV from 31:52, ”The 2024 budget is 28.7 trillion naira which about 8 trillion of it is being borrowed. When you convert it to dollar terms, it’s about 20 billions dollars. This is maybe our budget 20 years ago and that is part of our reality. We are not as wealthy as we think we are, we don’t have the revenue.
Brazil is a country with similar population like us, they have a Federal budget of nothing less than 700 billion dollars. Do we want to be like Brazil? Can we compete with Brazil? If what we are spending is 20 billion dollars and Brazil is spending 700 billion dollars. How do we compete with them? That is why we are not putting enough money in security. That is why we are not putting enough money in capital development. And that is why we are not achieving our place of pride in the world.'”….Sêe_Morē