The Federal Government has said that the target to deliver many of its legacy projects would not be achievable without taking credit facilities, to finance them.
Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed made this known after the weekly executive meeting at the State House, yesterday in Abuja.
She also disclosed that council approved the 2022 budget of N16.39 trillion and that the N6.258 trillion budget deficit will be financed through local and external loans.
“Nigeria’s borrowing has been of great concern and has elicited a lot of discussions, but if you look at the total size of the borrowing, it is still within healthy and sustainable limits. As at July 2021, the total borrowing is 23% of GDP,” she said.
“If we just depend on the revenues that we get, even though our revenues have increased, the operational expenditure of government, including salaries and other overheads, is barely covered or swallowed up by the revenue.
“So, we need to borrow to be able to build these projects that will ensure that we’re able to develop on a sustainable basis,” she added.
