Naija247news – Abuja – Prominent legal luminary and former President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Dr. Olisa Agbakoba (SAN), has sparked intense debate with his bold proposal for a ₦500 trillion national budget by 2027, arguing that Nigeria must radically shrink the size of its bloated federal government and devolve economic powers to states if the country is to escape its economic morass.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!In a recently released policy paper titled “Governance and Economic Analysis and Focus 2025”, Agbakoba laid out a radical transformation blueprint to shift Nigeria from a mono-resource-dependent economy to a production-oriented powerhouse. He called for a Marshall Plan-scale approach that includes overhauling oil contracts, cutting down on public service bureaucracy, and transferring power to sub-national governments.
“To create wealth, Nigeria must shrink government,” Agbakoba declared during an Arise News interview, adding that “500 trillion naira is achievable if we move with Trump-like speed and decisiveness.”
From ₦54tn to ₦500tn: “Big Money, Big Reform”
The senior advocate acknowledged that the proposal sounds audacious but insisted that a big budget should not be dismissed as utopian. Nigeria’s current 2024 budget stands at approximately ₦54 trillion, meaning Agbakoba’s proposal would increase spending nearly tenfold in three years.
He justified this by citing underutilized national resources and poor governance structures that fail to unlock Nigeria’s real wealth. Key to his proposal is restructuring the economic governance model:
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Downsize the federal government and devolve economic powers to states and LGAs.
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Eliminate wasteful government offices, such as the Office of the Head of Service, which he called a “colonial relic.”
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Adopt service-based oil contracts similar to Saudi Arabia’s Aramco model, to retain up to 85–90% of oil revenue locally instead of the current 10%.
“Why should Nigeria have 26 ministries and over 3 million civil servants when America has just 16 departments?” he asked. “The bloated federal service consumes 70–80% of our revenue.”
Oil Reform Could Unlock ₦85tn – But Time Is Ticking
Agbakoba emphasized that a shift from contract oil to “development oil” could rake in an estimated ₦85 trillion, arguing that Nigeria currently outsources too much of its oil wealth to foreign firms.
However, critics pointed out that the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) recently revealed the country has only 64 years of oil reserves left, much of which is already tied up in forward sales. Agbakoba acknowledged this but said it only reinforces the need to diversify the economy rapidly.
Power, Taxes, and the Role of the Private Sector
Responding to concerns that his proposal lacks clarity on key economic fundamentals—like electricity, inflation, reserves, and minimum wage—Agbakoba admitted the report does not cover all technical aspects but stressed that legal reform and governance restructuring must come first.
He praised the recent success of tax reforms under the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), noting that Nigeria’s tax revenues jumped from ₦9 trillion to ₦50 trillion, with projections to hit ₦100 trillion in coming years.
“Let government focus on policy, not business,” he insisted. “The private sector must drive the economy, especially in power, oil, and transport.”
Final Word: “The Time for Disruption Is Now”
Despite the skepticism, Agbakoba remains resolute: “Nigeria must act now or risk economic paralysis. We cannot keep managing poverty—we must manufacture wealth.”
Whether the idea of a ₦500 trillion budget becomes a catalyst for serious reform or ends up as just another intellectual exercise remains to be seen. But one thing is clear: Agbakoba has thrown a disruptive gauntlet into the ring, and the conversation has only just begun.
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