By Tony Obiechina, Abuja
Nigeria on Wednesday launched its planned Eurobond issuance in New York, United States of America.
Recall that Nigeria’s Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed had said the country would hold roadshows for the dollar-denominated issuance, which aims to raise roughly $3bn, in Lagos and New York.
The government is also targeting raising the same amount via multilateral and bilateral borrowing to fund its 2021 budget deficit.
In attendance at the show were Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr Godwin Emefiele; Director-General, Debt Management office, Patience Oniha, DG Budget Office, Ben Akabueze and a host of other government officials.
President Muhammadu Buhari had signed the 2021 Appropriation Bill of N13.588trn into law after it was passed on December 21 last year by the National Assembly.
The 2021 budget, according to the government, is aimed at accelerating the pace of Nigerian economic recovery, promote diversification, enhance competitiveness, and ensure social inclusion.
Buhari had while presenting the 2021 budget said the proposed N13.08trn expenditure comprised Capital Expenditure of N3.85trn, Non-debt Recurrent Costs of N5.65trn; Personnel Costs of N3.76trn; Pensions, Gratuities and Retirees’ Benefits of N501.19bn; Overheads of N625.5bn; Debt Service of N3.124trn; Statutory Transfers of N484.49bn; and Sinking Fund of N220bn to retire certain maturing bonds).
The President had said the 2021 budget deficit inclusive of Government Owned Enterprises and project-tied loans is projected at N5.2trn, adding that this represented 3.64 percent of the budget size.
The aggregate revenue available to fund the 2021 budget is projected at N7.89trn which is 35 per cent higher than the 2020 revised budget of N5.84trn.
