Experts seek budget reforms to achieve Nigeria’s $1trn economy
Abuja, April 2026 (TBL Africa) Dr Kenneth Kwujeli, Director, Plans and Project, Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, has stressed the need for reforming Nigeria’s budget system to achieve the $1 trillion economy and double-digit growth plan.
Kwujeli stated this at the National Policy Dialogue, organised by the National Assembly Joint Committee on National Planning and Economic Affairs/Development in Abuja on Tuesday.
The dialogue was entitled: “The Imperative of National Development Plan and Effective Budgeting System for Sustainable Growth of the Nigerian Economy.”
In a paper entitled: ‘Renewed Hope National Development Plan 2026-2030 and Annual Budget Towards One Trillion Dollar Gross Domestic Product”, Kwujeli said that decisive actions must be taken for consistency.
He said that government should take a firm decision regarding the name the ministry or commission, instead of being subject to change by new administration.
He said that budget officers in the MDAs should operate from Planning Department of the ministry instead of the Finance and Accounts Department which suggests them as Treasury Officers.
“The $1 trillion economy and double-digit growth envisaged for the economy by President Bola Tinubu is achievable.
“If we plan and annual budget is not aligning with the plan, then the plan will remain on the shelve for historians, hence annual budgets remain the public sector tool for achieving the plan.
“While the National Assembly is asking government agencies to come to defend their budgets, they should also be requested to submit the plans on which the budget was drawn
“It should be made mandatory for plans to be ready three months before the commencement of budgetting process or season every year.
“We must ensure that programmes are aligned with the Ward Based Development Programme and the new National Development Plan,” he said.
In his remarks, the Director General, Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research (NISER) Prof. Antonia Simbine, said that Nigeria had practised national development plans for over six decades.
According to her, planning provides strategic direction while budgetting allocates resources for implementation.
“To bridge the implementation gap and achieve sustainable, inclusive growth under the Renewed Hope 2026–2030 plan, Nigeria must move beyond traditional budgetting toward a more adaptive, technology-driven and efficient fiscal framework.
“Nigeria must institutionalise dynamic plan. Alignment between capital projects and plan must be enforced and it must prioritise a shift to value-for-money and impact per naira spent.
“There is also the need to redesign government programmes toward high-impact, scalable intervention,” she said.
Simbine recommended the adoption quarterly rolling forecasts, transformation of the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) into a flexible, continuously updated framework and adaptive reallocations within approved ceilings.
Also speaking, Mr Ben Akabueze, an expert from BIA Consulting Ltd., said that linking budgetting to planning was imperative for sustainable development.
According to Akabueze, the plan implementation gap in Nigeria is surmountable through appropriate application of political will, transparency and technology.
“Effective budgetting leads to improved standard of living and economic growth. Without this, budgetting will remain simply about expenditures rather than the desirable outcome,” he said.
