FG to borrow N5.62tr for 2022 budget deficits

The Federal Government will borrow N5.62 trillion to finance budget deficits in the 2022 financial year. According to the government, a proposal has already been submitted to that effect, disclosing that it will cut down capital expenditure in 2022 by N259.315 billion.

Presenting the 2022-2024 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP) before the House Committee on Finance in Abuja, yesterday, the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmad, explained that the reduction became necessary, given economic volatility occasioned by unstable global oil market and effects of the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19).

“On capital expenditure, the sum of N1,759,804,022,579 – as opposed to the N2,019,119,204,546 – will be available to Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of government in 2022. On the exchange rate, the naira is being pegged at N410 to one dollar, just as that minister told legislators that the projection is likely to come down in favour of the naira in 2023,” she said.