By Jane Salihu
Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, has urged the Nigerian media to deepen public understanding of the country’s budget choices and the development challenges confronting the nation.
Bagudu made the call at the Senate Press Corps Capacity-Building Workshop in Abuja, where he said journalists should go beyond reporting alleged budget insertions to explaining the purpose, origin and expected impact of budgetary provisions.
The workshop was organised with the theme, “Leveraging Legislative Oversight and Media Collaboration to Safeguard the National Budget from Unlawful Insertion.”
The Minister said Nigeria’s limited fiscal space, coupled with its large population and development needs, required a broader national conversation on how to mobilise more resources to finance development.
He said the media had an important role to play in helping Nigerians understand the difficult choices surrounding revenue, expenditure and borrowing as the country pursues its long-term development objectives.
Bagudu linked the issue to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda and Nigeria’s Agenda 2050, including the ambition to build a $1 trillion economy.
He questioned whether Nigeria could achieve its development aspirations while operating with limited resources, asking whether the country should continue with a relatively small budget or explore ways of mobilising additional revenue.
The Minister also cautioned journalists against assuming that every unfamiliar provision in the budget represented an irregularity.
He said journalists should investigate the origin, purpose and beneficiaries of such provisions before reaching conclusions, noting that some projects could appear questionable without the local context but might be addressing genuine needs in underserved communities.
Bagudu, however, stressed that the need for context should not weaken vigilance, saying the media and legislative oversight institutions must remain alert to human errors and possible irregularities.
“We are dealing with human processes and human errors. Therefore, vigilance is necessary, and the media and legislative oversight should remain vigilant,” he said.
He also called for greater public understanding of the constitutional roles of the Executive and National Assembly in the preparation, scrutiny and passage of Nigeria’s national budget.
According to him, effective budget reporting should combine accountability with an understanding of the wider development needs of the country.
Bagudu further urged the media to provide balanced reporting on budget performance, noting that recurrent expenditure in areas such as security, education, healthcare and human capital development could have direct developmental consequences.
He said debt-service obligations should also be considered in assessing fiscal decisions, as failure to meet such obligations could affect borrowing costs and have implications for the private sector.
The Minister urged journalists to continue holding public institutions accountable while ensuring that coverage of Nigeria’s budget does not lose sight of the country’s broader development challenges.
He said the media could help Nigerians better understand the choices facing the country as government works to address gaps in education, security, roads, water and other critical sectors.
