President Muhammadu Buhari is proposing a budget of between N7tr and N8tr for 2016, according to a document from the Office of Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo seen by Reuters on Friday.
Last year’s budget was N4.4 tr.
Nigeria is facing its worst economic crisis in years brought about by the sharp fall in crude prices, as oil exports account for 70 percent of government revenue.
The document, used as the basis for a presentation by Osinbajo to the cabinet during a two-day retreat, proposed capital expenditure of N2tr next year, up from N1.3tr in 2015, but did not say how it would be funded.
The document presented to them, bearing the title “The Economy – Where We Are Today”, laid out the extent to which the country has been hit by plunging oil prices, stating that in May foreign reserves hit a 10-year low of $29.6bn.
A page headed “How can we get out of a possible recession?” outlined the need for a “massive infrastructure building” programme for roads, rail and power, along with “expansionist” fiscal and monetary policies.
The presentation by Osinbajo, who heads the National Economic Council (NEC), stated that this would be paid for by a N25bn infrastructure fund and a N2.5tr “special intervention fund”.
But it gave no details of where this money would come from.
-TheCable