Bagudu made the remarks on Monday at the Senate Press Corps Capacity-Building Workshop in Abuja, where he called for a broader conversation on revenue mobilisation and the need to expand the country’s fiscal space.
The minister said Nigeria’s budget size, when compared with its population and development needs, raises questions about whether the country is allocating enough resources to meet its development goals.
“I would like to say that out of the top 10 most populous countries in the world, we have the smallest national budget,” Bagudu said.
“Should we continue with a budget that leaves our populace with one of the smallest budgets, or should we consider how we can mobilise more resources?”
He said the national conversation on the budget should begin with questions about what the appropriate size of the budget should be and how more resources can be generated to fund development.
Bagudu also urged journalists to scrutinise budget provisions thoroughly rather than immediately assuming that unfamiliar allocations were unlawful insertions.
According to him, effective budget oversight requires examining the origin, purpose and intended beneficiaries of budget provisions before reaching conclusions.
“We are dealing with human processes and human errors. Therefore, vigilance is necessary, and the media and legislative oversight should remain vigilant,” he said.
The minister further called for a balance between transparency and accountability and considerations of national security, while urging the media to maintain rigorous scrutiny of public institutions.
He linked the need for increased resource mobilisation to President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda and the government’s ambition to build a $1 trillion economy, saying the target requires difficult questions about how Nigeria generates and deploys resources.
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