{
  "id": 10492042,
  "title": "Nigeria’s budget too small for its population — Minister",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/28/nigerias-budget-too-small-for-its-population-minister",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-28T17:26:53.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Punch Nigeria",
    "slug": "punch-nigeria",
    "url": "https://punchng.com/nigerias-budget-too-small-for-its-population-minister/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Nigeria's Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Abubakar Bagudu, recently highlighted that Nigeria holds the distinction of having the smallest national budget among the world's 10 most populous countries. This situation persists despite the nation's significant population and development requirements. In response to this issue, the minister has called for a comprehensive national dialogue on revenue mobilisation, urging Nigerians to consider expanding the country's fiscal space to adequately fund development initiatives and meet its long-term economic aspirations. Bagudu made these remarks at a Senate Press Corps Capacity-Building Workshop in Abuja, which was organized under the theme \"Leveraging Legislative Oversight and Media Collaboration to Safeguard the National Budget from Unlawful Insertion.\" He urged journalists to pose pertinent questions and conduct thorough investigations into budget provisions, rather than drawing conclusions without adequate context. This stance was further underscored by an analysis published by PUNCH Online in August which revealed that, while the budgets of Nigeria's 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory increased by 47.5% from N27.22tn in 2025 to N40.14tn in 2026, the portion dedicated to capital projects saw a decline from 73.24% to 64.34%.",
  "summary": "The Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Abubakar Bagudu, says Nigeria has one of the smallest national budgets among the world’s 10 most populous nat Read More: https://punchng.com/nigerias-budget-too-small-for-its-population-minister/",
  "key_points": [
    "Nigeria has the smallest national budget among the world's 10 most populous countries.",
    "Minister Abubakar Bagudu calls for comprehensive national dialogue on revenue mobilisation.",
    "Budget allocation for capital projects declines from 73.24% to 64.34%."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Punch",
        "title": "Nigeria’s budget too small for its population — Minister",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/28/nigerias-budget-too-small-for-its-population-minister-10498031",
        "published": "2026-09-28T17:58:53.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}