2016 budget-FG to borrow N1.884trn
Mon Apr 11, 2016 08:51:am National
1.7K By sosa hills
The Director General of Debt Management Office, DMO, Dr Abraham Nwankwo has said that the Federal Government would be borrowing N900 billion and N984billion from the external and domestic markets, respectively to finance the 2016 budget. This is as Nigerians eagerly await President Muhammadu Buhari's assent to the 2016 Budget, the Director-General of the Debt Management Office
Nwankwo said that N900 billion would be sourced from external sources while N984 billion would be obtained from the domestic market.
He therefore charged the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) and the media in Nigeria to key into the Federal Government's debt management policy.
He made this known at a one-day workshop on "Debt Sustainability and the Challenge of Financing Economic Recovery organised by the DMO for the NUJ in Abuja, at the weekend, Nwankwo said the challenge of infrastructural development and economic recovery were enormous, hence the imperative of the Federal Government to seek alternative funding, of which debt sourcing is an integral part.
The DMO boss observed that the NUJ and the media as a whole have a critical role to play in informing Nigerians of the importance of debt financing in economic development, especially with the declining oil and gas revenue being face by the country and around the globe.
Nwankwo told the participants that Nigeria's debt to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio as at December 2015 was at 13.02%, which he said was far below the peer group ratio of 56%.
According to him, the Federal Government will borrow N900 billion and N984 billion from the external and domestic markets, respectively to finance the 2016 Budget.
He said the logic of the mix, external and domestic borrowings, is "to rebalance total public stock in favour of less costly external funds," stressing that "the utilisation of the borrowing proceeds are entirely on capital projects to support the growth of productive capacity."
Nwankwo said that to address the huge infrastructural deficit in the country speedily and effectively, the funding implications for Nigeria is about $25 billion per annum over the next five seven years.
The worry in the funding of such huge infrastructural challenge, the DMO boss said, lies in private sector equity and debt, which he explained is uncertain as well as public sector revenue and debt which have been adversely affected by declining oil revenue.
To address the imbalance, therefore, "the imperative is to depend on well structured, substantial, affordable, long term external debt financing to fund the desired long term economic change," he stated.
Nwankwo urged the leadership of the NUJ to weigh in on the workshop and engage their members to present the desirability of public debt financing to Nigerians.
In his speech, the NUJ President, Mr. Waheed Odusile, commended the DMO for the workshop, which he described as timely and educative and urged the agency to expand its enlightenment campaign to other critical stakeholders.
Odusile promised that the union will continue to engage with the DMO in order to help pass on the appropriate information on the activities of the office and the importance of debt financing for the country's development needs.
Nwankwo said that N900 billion would be sourced from external sources while N984 billion would be obtained from the domestic market.
He therefore charged the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) and the media in Nigeria to key into the Federal Government's debt management policy.
He made this known at a one-day workshop on "Debt Sustainability and the Challenge of Financing Economic Recovery organised by the DMO for the NUJ in Abuja, at the weekend, Nwankwo said the challenge of infrastructural development and economic recovery were enormous, hence the imperative of the Federal Government to seek alternative funding, of which debt sourcing is an integral part.
The DMO boss observed that the NUJ and the media as a whole have a critical role to play in informing Nigerians of the importance of debt financing in economic development, especially with the declining oil and gas revenue being face by the country and around the globe.
Nwankwo told the participants that Nigeria's debt to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio as at December 2015 was at 13.02%, which he said was far below the peer group ratio of 56%.
According to him, the Federal Government will borrow N900 billion and N984 billion from the external and domestic markets, respectively to finance the 2016 Budget.
He said the logic of the mix, external and domestic borrowings, is "to rebalance total public stock in favour of less costly external funds," stressing that "the utilisation of the borrowing proceeds are entirely on capital projects to support the growth of productive capacity."
Nwankwo said that to address the huge infrastructural deficit in the country speedily and effectively, the funding implications for Nigeria is about $25 billion per annum over the next five seven years.
The worry in the funding of such huge infrastructural challenge, the DMO boss said, lies in private sector equity and debt, which he explained is uncertain as well as public sector revenue and debt which have been adversely affected by declining oil revenue.
To address the imbalance, therefore, "the imperative is to depend on well structured, substantial, affordable, long term external debt financing to fund the desired long term economic change," he stated.
Nwankwo urged the leadership of the NUJ to weigh in on the workshop and engage their members to present the desirability of public debt financing to Nigerians.
In his speech, the NUJ President, Mr. Waheed Odusile, commended the DMO for the workshop, which he described as timely and educative and urged the agency to expand its enlightenment campaign to other critical stakeholders.
Odusile promised that the union will continue to engage with the DMO in order to help pass on the appropriate information on the activities of the office and the importance of debt financing for the country's development needs.
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