It is no longer news that Nigeria will be unable to fund its budget, which is ironically, the largest in recent times, due to the synergistic effects of the oil price slump, reduced oil production due to militancy and the ensuing free fall of the Naira.
It is estimated that the budget deficit will surpass the 2 trillion Naira mark. Such a huge deficit bodes doom for the economy and in an effort to forestall it, the government has said it will borrow 900 billion Naira from the local debt market, to fund the necessary activities to revive the economy.
The first step the FG is taking towards this is its plans to raise 120 billion Naira ($387 million) in local-currency denominated bonds at an auction on September 14. Reuters reports that this was disclosed by the government’s Debt Management Office said on Tuesday.
The debt office said it will raise 40 billion Naira each from debt maturing in 2021, 2026 and 2036, using the Dutch auction system. These bonds are re-openings of formerly issued debt, explains Reuters.
Parts of this article originally appeared in Reuters
