PRES. TINUBU WRITES TO SEEK REP’S APPROVAL FOR $8.6BN, €100M EXTERNAL BORROWING

November 28, 2023November 28, 2023

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In a letter to the House of Representatives, President Bola Tinubu requested the green chamber’s approval of an $8.6 billion and €100 million external borrowing plan for vital infrastructure, including power, roads, water, railroads, and health care.

The Federal Capital Territory Supplementary Budget was also sent to the House by the President for review.

In the meantime, on Wednesday, the President will deliver the 2024 budget to the National Assembly. This came after the N27.5 trillion budget for 2024 was approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC).

The approval came after the National Assembly reviewed the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF), which set the benchmarks for the exchange rate at N700 to $1 and the price of crude oil at $73.96 cents per barrel.

Abubakar Bagudu, the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, told reporters on Monday at the State House that the FEC has updated the MTEF and the Fiscal Policy to utilise a benchmark crude oil reference price of $77.96 per barrel in addition to an exchange rate of N750 to $1.

Bagudu claims that the FEC also passed an Appropriations Bill for 2024 that calls for spending N27.5 trillion in total—a sum that is more than N1.5 trillion more than first projected.