Nigeria records crippling $93.77 billion debt, slashes budget
What you need to know:
- On July 10, President Muhammadu Buhari signed into law a trimmed budget of $35.4 billion (N10.8 trillion) and directed release of at least 50 per cent of the revised capital expenditure to ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs).
- The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on July 10 confirmed the nation’s debt burden, reporting that 34.89 per cent of the debt was external and 65.11 per cent domestic.
Abuja,
Nigeria has cut its 2020 national budget following the glut in the global oil market and a crippling huge domestic and external debt of $93.77 billion (N28.63 trillion).
On July 10, President Muhammadu Buhari signed into law a trimmed budget of $35.4 billion (N10.8 trillion) and directed release of at least 50 per cent of the revised capital expenditure to ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs).
On May 13, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved a budget cut of $1.05 billion (N320 billion) to cushion the effect of a fall in crude oil. Oil is responsible for 85 per cent of the nation’s revenue.
President Buhari said the budget had to be revised because of the effect of the coronavirus on global oil prices and its negative impact on the nation’s economy.
EXPENDITURE
Meanwhile, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on July 10 confirmed the nation’s debt burden, reporting that 34.89 per cent of the debt was external and 65.11 per cent domestic.
Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Ms Zainab Ahmed, has projected an aggregate expenditure of $38.8 billion (N11.86 trillion) for 2021.
Ms Ahmed reported the expenditure when she unveiled the 2021-2023 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper (MTEF/FSP).
She also said the aggregate projected revenue from available sources for 2021 would be $22.88 billion (N6.98 trillion) while the fiscal deficit was expected to be $16.9 billion (N5.16 trillion).
“The 2021-2023 MTEF&FSP is the pre-budget statement that provides the framework for the development of the 2021 budget. It is being framed against the backdrop of a challenging global macroeconomic environment as well as domestic factors,” she explained.
“We aim to keep the deficit within the three per cent ceiling over the medium term and are therefore working on identifying new revenue sources and or cost of reduction.”
