Buhari plans more N6.3trn loans, with N3.6trn allocation for debt servicing in 2022 budget

President Muhammadu Buhari has indicated that the federal government will need more N6.3 trillion loans to fiancé the deficit in the N17.126 trillion budget for 2022 which he signed on December 31, 2021.

The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Hajia Zainab Ahmed, at the public presentation and breakdown of the highlights of the 2022 Appropriation Bill in Abuja on Tuesday disclosed that the Federal Government is targeting a revenue projection of N10.7 trillion in the 2022 budget. Zainab Ahmed explained that revenue projection is 32 percent higher than the N8.1 trillion revenue projection in 2021.

The budget showed that debt servicing will take N3.6 trillion allocation from the 2022 budget. The Minister said that the 2022 budget has a N6.3 trillion deficit which the government intends to finance from securing domestic, foreign, multilateral loans, as well as revenue from privatization.

The projected loans were classified to include N2.5 trillion from domestic sources and N2.5 trillion from foreign sources; N1.1 trillion will be from bilateral loans and N90 billion from privatization proceeds.

The Minister also disclosed that the government has put in place several domestic tax reforms for the 2022 fiscal year.

Meanwhile, President Buhari while signing the 2022 budget on December 31, pointed out some gray areas after members of the National Assembly altered the budget. The President said he will revert the budget to the federal lawmakers for amendment when they resume in January after the Christmas and new year holidays.