The Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Abubakar Bagudu, has urged the media to deepen its engagement with Nigeria’s budget process by promoting informed public discourse and strengthening accountability.
He said the media should also help citizens understand the choices underpinning the government’s development agenda.
Bagudu made the call in a speech at the Senate Press Corps Capacity-Building Workshop, organised around the theme, “Leveraging Legislative Oversight and Media Collaboration to Safeguard the National Budget from Unlawful Insertion.”
He said effective scrutiny of the national budget should go beyond identifying controversial provisions to understanding the constitutional process, the rationale behind budgetary choices and the development needs those provisions are intended to address.
The Minister urged journalists to ask the right questions and thoroughly investigate budget provisions rather than draw conclusions without sufficient context.
According to him, Nigeria’s budget conversation must begin with a fundamental question: “What is the national budget, and what should it be?”
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Bagudu said Nigeria’s limited fiscal space, given its population and development needs, makes it necessary to broaden the national conversation on resource mobilisation and the scale of public investment required to achieve the country’s development aspirations.
He linked the discussion to President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda and the country’s long-term development framework under Agenda 2050.
The Minister said the ambition to build a $1 trillion economy requires Nigerians to confront difficult questions about how the country mobilises resources and funds development.
“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 asked.
He noted that decisions on revenue, expenditure and borrowing cannot be separated from public confidence.
Bagudu stressed that citizens’ understanding and support are important to the ability of the government and National Assembly to take major fiscal decisions.
He also underscored the National Assembly’s constitutional role in the budget process, urging greater public understanding of the relationship between the Executive and legislature in shaping the budget.
On alleged budget insertions, the minister cautioned against assuming that every unfamiliar provision is irregular, stressing the need to investigate the origin, purpose and beneficiaries of specific provisions.
He cited water infrastructure in underserved areas and equipment for fishing communities as examples of provisions that might appear questionable without sufficient local context.
He stressed, however, that such context should not diminish the need for vigilance.
“We are dealing with human processes and human errors. Therefore, vigilance is necessary, and the media and legislative oversight should remain vigilant,” he said.
Balanced Approach
The minister also called for a balanced approach to budget transparency, particularly where disclosure of sensitive information could have implications for national security or strategic interests.
Bagudu challenged the assumption that capital expenditure is inherently more valuable than recurrent expenditure, arguing that spending on security, education, healthcare, human capital and public-sector personnel can have direct developmental consequences.
He also emphasised the importance of meeting debt-service obligations, noting that failure to honour such commitments could affect borrowing costs and have consequences for private-sector operators.
Bagudu urged the media to remain rigorous in holding public institutions to account while keeping Nigeria’s broader development challenges in view.
“How careful are we to ensure that, while insisting on holding public officials to account, we do not lose sight of the bigger picture?” he asked.
He said transforming the economy would require government action, public support and imagination, urging the media to help bring these conversations to the forefront.
