The Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, has dismissed suggestions that the Federal Government’s spending priorities under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu are designed to favour particular regions of the country.
Bagudu said federal expenditure on security, infrastructure and support for livelihoods was driven by national priorities and aimed at addressing the needs of Nigerians irrespective of their location.
He spoke while delivering a keynote address at the Federal Appointees Strategic Summit on the presentation and review of ministerial and Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) budget implementation.
The minister said security expenditure, for instance, was targeted at protecting communities affected by insecurity, while investments in roads and other infrastructure were intended to improve movement, connectivity and economic activities across the country.
He urged federal appointees to have a proper understanding of the policies and economic reforms of the Tinubu administration and to explain their impact more effectively to Nigerians, especially people at the grassroots.
According to him, better communication of government policies was necessary to enable citizens to understand both the difficulties created by the reforms and the objectives behind them.
Bagudu said the administration inherited a difficult economic situation and decided to remove the petrol subsidy and reform the foreign exchange market as part of measures to address deep-rooted economic imbalances.
He acknowledged that the reforms had contributed to the cost-of-living pressures experienced by Nigerians, particularly when combined with developments in the global economy.
The minister said the government did not anticipate the extent of the economic turbulence that would follow the reforms and the international pressures that subsequently affected economies around the world.
Despite the difficulties, he said the administration remained focused on creating a stronger and more sustainable economy capable of delivering growth that benefits a wider section of the population.
Bagudu said one of the major outcomes of the reforms had been an improvement in government revenues, giving the Federal Government, states and local governments greater financial capacity to perform their constitutional responsibilities.
He linked the increased revenue available to the three tiers of government to President Tinubu’s approach to fiscal federalism, under which more resources are expected to reach states and local governments rather than being concentrated at the centre.
‘Rather than keeping additional revenues at the centre, the President has taken the position that we should give local governments and states more money and energise everyone so that we can interrogate and fulfil our responsibilities,’ he said.
The minister also referred to measures taken by the Federal Government to settle outstanding financial obligations involving states, saying the steps were intended to strengthen the federation and improve the ability of governments at all levels to provide services to citizens.
He recalled that there had been periods when some states found it difficult to pay workers’ salaries even when international crude oil prices were relatively high.
At the same time, he said, many states faced shortages of funds for infrastructure and other essential public services.
Bagudu said the stronger financial position of states in the current period had created greater room for them to spend on infrastructure, education, security and other responsibilities assigned to them by the Constitution.
He said the improvement in public finances was also reflected in some broader economic indicators, including the country’s revenue-to-Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio.
On taxation, the minister said ongoing reforms were intended to make the tax system more efficient and improve compliance, rather than impose unnecessary hardship on citizens.
He, however, acknowledged that Nigerians were still facing significant economic pressures as the government pursued the reforms.
According to him, conflicts in different parts of the world, uncertainty in international markets and changes in global trade and tariff policies have continued to affect food prices and the general cost of living.
Bagudu said the progress recorded so far should not be regarded as the final outcome of the administration’s economic programme, noting that President Tinubu had repeatedly challenged government officials to achieve more.
He said the administration was working towards its ambition of growing Nigeria into a $1 trillion economy by 2030, with growth that would be broad enough to improve living standards and reduce poverty.
Bagudu described the $1 trillion target as ambitious but achievable, provided the country put in place the structures required for sustained economic transformation.
He said effective implementation of the National Development Plan would be important to achieving the long-term economic objectives, alongside policies that encourage investment, production and job creation.
The minister also called for greater attention to domestic production, saying Nigeria needed to strengthen its ability to produce more of what its citizens consume and ensure that economic reforms translated into tangible improvements in people’s lives.
He said the National Economic Council had been discussing ways of encouraging state governments to adopt policies that would increase domestic production and ensure that the gains from economic reforms spread more widely across the country.
Bagudu’s comments come as the Federal Government continues to defend the direction of its economic reforms, which have brought significant changes to fuel pricing, the foreign exchange market and public finances, while citizens continue to grapple with higher living costs.
The minister said the ultimate objective was to use the reforms to build stronger public finances and create the conditions for sustained and inclusive economic growth across the country.