By Justina Otio

The Federal Government has announced that it is experiencing enormous challenges and revenue deficit amid a growing population.

The Minister of Budget and National Planning, Atiku Bagudu said that the government is finding it hard to pay salaries.

Speaking in Abuja, the Minister called on non-governmental organisations to help the government cover the spaces it could not.

Bagudu, represented by the ministry’s Director of International Cooperation, Dr. Sampson Ebimaro, lamented that Nigeria’s population is fast increasing, adding that unemployment is surging amid a high inflation rate.

“Government faces enormous challenges especially now; the government is facing a revenue deficit. There is no money anywhere in the country; the government is just managing to pay salaries.

“The growth rate is very slow and the population growth is fast pacing and increasing. Unemployment is surging in the midst of high inflation,” the minister said.

Dr Sarah Alade, a former acting governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, said participation of Non-State Actors (NSAs) is key to the federal government’s target to lift millions of Nigeria out of poverty.

Alade, who was also Special Adviser to ex-President Muhammadu Buhari on Finance and Economy, urged the government to collaborate with NSAs to achieve economic development.