Brazil’s annual budget is over 30 times bigger than Nigeria’s – Bagudu

Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Atiku Bagudu, has said the $20 billion Federal budget of Nigeria is inadequate compared to the $700 billion of Brazil

He said this at the formal launch of ActionAid Nigeria’s (AAN) Country Strategy Paper (CSP) for themed ‘Citizens Action Against Poverty and Injustice (2024-2034)’, in Abuja on Thursday.

Bagudu said, “The federal budget of Indonesia is about US $210bn. The federal budget of Brazil is about $700 billion and it has been like that for a while. When I say for a while, for upwards of a decade. The budget of Nigeria, Federal budget, now is about $20bn, and maybe the highest it has been, has been about $35bn.

“Do we want to be like Brazil? Or do we want to be like Indonesia? Can we hope to achieve what they have achieved with that level of federal spending? Or do we confront this reality? Because when you confront your reality, it’s just like gathering the family around and reminding everyone that we are not as rich as we think we are. Maybe new energy will come in to the family, and the sense of entitlement will give way to what can I do, what effort can I contribute?”

He also called for collective action of both citizens and the government to fight decades of under investment in the country.

He said, “And this is where we were at, and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu felt consistent with what is done by other countries, consistent with what is done even with sub nationals, and without blaming any leader, conclude that we are not where we want to be.”

Earlier, the AAN Country Director, Andrew Mamedu, said that if the current poverty situation in the country is not adequately addressed, it could affect future generations.

“As you may know, nearly 12 percent of the global population was living in extreme poverty in 2023, and this figure has evidently worsened due to ongoing conflicts, wars, and disasters across the globe. In Nigeria, where the poverty threshold is 1.90 U.S. dollars a day (about 3000 using the official rate), 133 million of our 200 million people are multidimensionally poor.

“This means that they not only lack financial resources but also lack access to essential services such as education, healthcare, and clean water. If you are not one of the 133 million, it is likely that your family members, extended or nuclear, are, and if we do not address this now, future generations may face the same plight. Hope and believe is not a strategy, hope and belief must be accompanied by action. This is the essence of our CSP,” Mamedu said.

Delivering the keynote, Dr Otive Igbuzor, Founding Executive Director, African Centre for Leadership, Strategy and Development (Centre LSD), Abuja, who was also a former Country Director of AAN, said that 20 years ago in 2004, when he was appointed the Country Director of AAN, the poverty rate in Nigeria was 54.7 percent representing about 74.8 million people. “Today, the poverty rate is projected to be 40.7 percent representing 93.3 million people. So, in spite of all our best efforts, poverty is increasing. Nigeria as a country has been battered and urgently needs rebirth and building,” Igbuzor said.