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Nigeria's Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, while addressing international investors in London, disclosed that the Federal government has opted to reduce total budgetary spending on the 2016 capital expenditure plan ahead of indications that the budget would not be implemented fully. The Minister stated that in order to plug the increasing revenue gap, the decision to cut the budget was favored against an option of increased borrowing.

Adeosun said the Government would not want to increase its debt to GDP ratio in 2016, but hinted that the ratio would eventually go up over the next three years to about 20% from the current level of 13%; indicating that the current Government under President Muhammadu Buhari would be borrowing annually throughout its first term.

The Government had planned to borrow both from domestic and international markets to plug its 2016 budgeted deficit of N2.2 trillion. Meanwhile, the Minister had stated that the treasury single account, TSA, has witnessed significant increase in revenue to N3.3 trillion in May, up from N2.9 trillion in March.

Adeosun also noted that in a bid to increase Government revenue, the Ministry of Finance was continually unearthing pockets of revenue which had previously escaped its net; including visa fees, airport landing charges and shipping levies.