The Federal Government plans to remedy the N6.258 trillion deficit in the 2022 Budget through borrowing, Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning Mrs Zainab Ahmed revealed yesterday.
“The resultant deficit of N6.258 trillion will be financed by new borrowings of N5.012 trillion (of which domestic – N2.506 trillion and foreign – N2.506 trillion); drawdowns on Project-tied Multilateral/Bilateral loans – N1.156 trillion; and Privatisation Proceeds of N90.73 billion,” she explained.
The minister allayed fears over government’s “excessive borrowing” complaints, saying “as at July, the total borrowing is 23 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) limits.”
Mrs Ahmed spoke on the final full budget to be implemented by President Muhammadu Buhari Administration before its exit in 2023, after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting.
The minister said: “If we just depend on the revenues that we get, even though our revenues have increased, the operational expenditure of government, including salaries and other overheads, is barely covered or swallowed up by the revenue.
“So, we need to borrow to be able to build these projects that will ensure that we’re able to develop on a sustainable basis.
“Nigeria’s borrowing has been of great concern and has elicited a lot of discussions, but if you look at the total size of the borrowing, it is still within healthy and sustainable limits. As at July 2021, the total borrowing is 23% of GDP.
“When you compare our borrowing to other countries, we’re the lowest within the region, lowest compared to Egypt, South Africa, Brazil, Mexico, the very lowest, and Angola.”
