The study empirically analyzed the impact of individual and collective consumption expenditure of the general government on Nigeria’s economic growth for 1981-2023. The dependent variable is the gross domestic product growth rate (GDPGR), while the explanatory variables are Individual Consumption Expenditure of General Government (ICEGG) and Collective Consumption Expenditure of General Government (CCEGG). The data were all sourced from the Central Bank of Nigeria Statistical Bulletin 2023. The preliminary analysis was carried out using the Augmented Dickey-Fuller Unit Root test and Johansen Cointegration, while the main estimation technique is the Vector Error Correction Method and Granger Causality/Block Exogeneity Wald Tests. Government spending on individual services (ICEGG) positively impacts growth in the short term (8.61 percentage points) but reverses in the long term (-10.85 percentage points). Collective Consumption Expenditure (CCEGG) consistently negatively impacts GDP growth. The Granger Causality Test indicated individual and collective government expenditures do not Granger-cause GDP growth. Given the positive short-term impacts of individual government expenditures on services like healthcare and education, reforms should focus on increasing their long-term efficiency to foster economic growth. The government can achieve this by introducing monitoring and evaluation systems to track spending effectiveness, ensuring resources are allocated where they will yield the greatest benefits. Again, the consistent negative impact of collective government spending on GDP growth indicates a need for better resource allocation. Rather than broad-based spending, the government should prioritize high-impact infrastructure projects in the transportation, energy, and digital infrastructure sectors.