The Director-General of the Budget Office of the Federation, Mr Ben Akabueze, says Nigeria’s government expenditure is among the lowest in the world.
Akabueze said this during a chat with journalists and representatives of civil society organisations in Abuja on Friday.
While presenting a breakdown of the 2022 budget proposal which stands at N16.39tn, he justified the Federal Government’s borrowing plan, adding that it was necessary because the government’s revenue was too low.
The Budget Office boss said the expenditure of the federal, state and local governments combined was less than 15 per cent of the GDP.
He said, “It is absolutely critical that we fix our revenue challenge because oftentimes people just say cut expenditure. The truth is cutting expenditure is not currently a viable option for two main reasons. Number one, our public expenditure to GDP ratio is about the lowest even on the continent of Africa.
“As a country, our public expenditure to GDP ratio is under 15 per cent. Even on the continent of Africa, that ratio, the average is over 30 per cent. The global average is over 30 per cent. I am talking of the whole of government – federal, state and local governments. The reality is that in aggregate, governments in Nigeria are not spending too much, they are actually spending too little.
The Director-General of the Budget Office of the Federation, Mr Ben Akabueze, says Nigeria’s government expenditure is among the lowest in the world, The Punch reports.
Akabueze said this during a chat with journalists and representatives of civil society organisations in Abuja on Friday.
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While presenting a breakdown of the 2022 budget proposal which stands at N16.39tn, he justified the Federal Government’s borrowing plan, adding that it was necessary because the government’s revenue was too low.
The Budget Office boss said the expenditure of the federal, state and local governments combined was less than 15 per cent of the GDP.
He said, “It is absolutely critical that we fix our revenue challenge because oftentimes people just say cut expenditure. The truth is cutting expenditure is not currently a viable option for two main reasons. Number one, our public expenditure to GDP ratio is about the lowest even on the continent of Africa.
“As a country, our public expenditure to GDP ratio is under 15 per cent. Even on the continent of Africa, that ratio, the average is over 30 per cent. The global average is over 30 per cent. I am talking of the whole of government – federal, state and local governments. The reality is that in aggregate, governments in Nigeria are not spending too much, they are actually spending too little.