The federal government has projected to borrow over N13 trillion to finance the 2025 Budget of N48 trillion naira.
The News Agency of Nigeria, NAN reports that the 2025 financial estimate is more than 30 percent higher than the 2024 Budget, taking the deficit to close to four percent of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product, GDP.
Wale Edun, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy made this known on Monday while speaking to state House correspondents after the Federal Executive Council, FEC, meeting in Abuja, the nation’s capital.
The FEC, the last for the year was chaired by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who is expected to present the 2025 financial estimate to the National Assembly on Wednesday, December 18.
The Budget presentation was earlier scheduled for Tuesday December 17 by the president before it was shifted by the Presidency.
According to Edun, it’s not out of place for Nigeria to borrow to finance the budget, saying this is what obtains in developing countries, adding that the administration target is to provide good governance for the citizens in the areas of providing key infrastructure and other social services.
Edun said it’s a global best practice to borrow to fiance budget. “And even looking at it from an international context, we, like governments around the world, are concerned about how to achieve fiscal sustainability, revenue to expenditure and borrowing that is balanced, to create an environment in which the economy can grow,” he said.
“Private sector-led economies such as ours and others, rely on investors to put down their money in various projects, increase productivity, create jobs, grow the economy and in the case of countries such as ours, bring the people out of poverty.”.
The Minister of State for Agriculture, Sabi Abdullahi, had earlier disclosed why the Budget presentation was shifted by President Tinubu.
Abdullahi said, “The budget presentation has been postponed from Tuesday to Wednesday.
“The executive just needs to make one or two adjustments to the budget.”
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