The Federal Government has emphasised the urgent need for increased financial resources to achieve its development objectives.
Honourable Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Abubakar Bagudu, during the recent Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit’s (NFIU) management retreat in Abuja, highlighted the critical role of a robust and integrity-driven financial system in realising Nigeria’s long-term goals.
“Our Agenda 2050, a statement of our national aspiration, requires that we invest at least $100 billion annually to achieve a gross domestic product (GDP) per capita of $33,000 or more by 2050,” Senator Bagudu stated.
However, he expressed concern that the current financing levels fall significantly short of this target, stressing the need for increased financial inflows to meet the nation’s ambitious development goals.
Despite the bold economic reforms implemented by President Bola Tinubu’s administration to boost revenue, Senator Bagudu noted that the country is still far from attracting the necessary financial flows. He stressed the importance of greater efforts to attract both domestic and foreign investments to bridge this gap.
To illustrate the scale of the challenge, Honourable Minister compared Nigeria’s federal budget of $20 billion with those of Brazil and Indonesia—countries with similar population sizes but much larger budgets of $750 billion and $210 billion, respectively. This disparity, he argued, highlights the urgent need for Nigeria to enhance its financial capacity.
Senator Bagudu also stressed the importance of a sound financial system in attracting the investments required to finance Nigeria’s development plan.
“The plan is to use private sector or capital market money to fund the plan. Because of that, we need confidence, integrity, and soundness in our financial system,” he explained.
Additionally, he urged international rating agencies to adopt a more generous approach in their assessments of Nigeria, given the significant reforms the country has undertaken. He praised the NFIU for its role in enhancing the integrity of Nigeria’s financial system but emphasised the need for more effective communication of its activities to gain public acknowledgment and improve the country’s credit rating.
“Our credit rating should improve. We have taken measures similar to those in countries that have achieved significant increases in credit ratings. We have established and committed institutions, particularly the NFIU, and should benefit from them,” Senator Bagudu said.
He reiterated that the importance of communication in reinforcing the progress made by institutions like the NFIU.
“Communication matters, so we reinforce and punish wrongdoing while drawing attention to our great work to enhance the integrity and soundness of our financial assistance,” Senator Bagudu stated.
As Nigeria continues to pursue its development agenda, the government’s focus remains on attracting the necessary financial resources and fostering a financial system that can support sustainable growth and development.
