Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed disclosed that the Federal Government is planning to finance the proposed 2022 budget deficit pegged at N6.258 trillion through fresh borrowings.
This is coming as the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved the 2022 Appropriation Bill for an aggregate expenditure of N16.39 trillion.
According to Zainab Ahmed, the borrowings will aid the funding of the Federal Government’s infrastructure projects.
“Government has been borrowing before this administration and continues to borrow and it is important that we borrow to provide developmental projects in the form of roads, rails, bridges, power and water for sustainable development in this country,” 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.”
While defending the government’s borrowings, she said the move is necessary to be able to build projects and to ensure they are developed on a sustainable basis.
In spite of persistent agitations in some quarters against the frequent borrowing by the current administration, the Finance Minister insists that the total size of the borrowing is still within healthy and sustainable limits.