President Bola Tinubu has submitted a letter to the House of Representatives, seeking approval for an external borrowing plan totaling $8.6 billion and €100 million.
The funds are intended for critical infrastructure projects, including power, roads, water, railway, and health. Additionally, the President forwarded the Federal Capital Territory Supplementary Budget for the House’s consideration.
The move comes as the President is set to present the 2024 budget to the National Assembly on Wednesday.
Meanwhile the Federal Executive Council had earlier approved a 2024 budget of N27.5 trillion, adjusting the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Policy.
The approval followed the review of the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) earlier passed by the National Assembly which benchmarked the exchange rate at N700 to $1 and crude oil price at $73.96 cent per barrel.
The Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Abubakar Bagudu, told reporters at the State House on Monday that FEC revised the MTEF and the Fiscal Policy to use an exchange rate of N750 to $1 and also a benchmark crude oil reference price of $77.96 per barrel.
According to Bagudu, the FEC also approved an Appropriation Bill for 2024 with an aggregate expenditure of N27.5 trillion, an increase of over N1.5 trillion from the previously estimated.
Ada Peter
