₦airaland Forum

Here's the bitter truth: if you ran your business like the Nigerian economy, you’d be bankrupt. No questions asked. But the politicians? They just keep digging a deeper hole while you’re left to pay the price. We’ve seen years of deficits piling up due to government wastage, and it’s not just a number on paper—it’s money you and I will be paying for in the future.
So, how long can we afford to keep pretending? Let’s face the reality before it gets worse. The question isn’t if it will implode—it’s when.
Deficits mean that the Nigerian government is spending more than its revenues.

Here is the year-by-year summary of Nigeria’s total revenue, expenditure, and resulting deficits during Muhammadu Buhari's presidency (2015–2023):

2015
• Revenue: ₦3.43 trillion
• Expenditure: ₦4.77 trillion
• Deficit: ₦1.34 trillion

2016
• Revenue: ₦3.85 trillion
• Expenditure: ₦6.06 trillion
• Deficit: ₦2.21 trillion

2017
• Revenue: ₦4.10 trillion
• Expenditure: ₦7.44 trillion
• Deficit: ₦3.34 trillion

2018
• Revenue: ₦4.96 trillion
• Expenditure: ₦9.12 trillion
• Deficit: ₦4.16 trillion

2019
• Revenue: ₦4.77 trillion
• Expenditure: ₦8.91 trillion
• Deficit: ₦4.14 trillion

2020
• Revenue: ₦3.94 trillion (impacted by COVID-19)
• Expenditure: ₦10.81 trillion
• Deficit: ₦6.87 trillion

2021
• Revenue: ₦4.39 trillion
• Expenditure: ₦13.59 trillion
• Deficit: ₦9.20 trillion

2022
• Revenue: ₦5.03 trillion
• Expenditure: ₦17.12 trillion
• Deficit: ₦12.09 trillion

2023
• Revenue: ₦10.49 trillion (projected)
• Expenditure: ₦21.83 trillion (projected)
• Deficit: ₦11.34 trillion

For President Bola Tinubu's administration, the projected budget deficits for the years 2023 and 2024 are as follows:

2023: The Nigerian government had a budget expenditure of N21.83 trillion and a revenue target of about N10.5 trillion. The fiscal deficit for
2023 was estimated at N11.6 trillion, or about 5.18% of GDP​.
​
2024: The projected expenditure is N27.5 trillion with a revenue target of N16.9 trillion, leading to a projected fiscal deficit of N9.04 trillion​.

The consistent deficits reflect increasing government expenditure on infrastructure, subsidies, wastage and debt servicing, as well as challenges in revenue generation despite oil and non-oil revenue efforts​.
Deficit. Debt. Default. Inflation. Sound familiar? It's not just an economic theory—it’s the Nigerian reality. We’ve been running a deficit year after year, and it’s only getting worse. If this were a business, we'd be out of money, out of time, and out of luck. But we keep going like nothing’s wrong.
You can ignore the numbers, but they won't ignore you. It's time to ask yourself: What happens when this bubble bursts?

Related Topics

The Rising Nigerian Debt Figures From President Olusegun Obasanjo To Bola Tinubu https://www.nairaland.com/8291887/rising-nigerian-debt-figures-president

DR MELCHISEDEC BANKOLE

So N9 trillion deficit but Nigerians are suffering like never before?

There is no way one will be one sided reasoning and win ordinary a spoon in any election contest

helinues:
There is no way one will be one sided reasoning and win ordinary a spoon in any election contest

Any useful plan for today?

DrMrsAdeniran:
Any useful plan for today?

Retarded people should stay away from my mentions

All those revenue figures are highly depleted by corruption. Nigerian government parastatals do not remit the whole revenue generated, starting from NNPC to the smallest parastatals. The same goes for state government. The actual revenue generated should be at least 1.5 X the remitted amount
If all the actual revenue generated where recorded and remitted, both federal and state government will have far higher revenue and like budget surplus.