As Nigeria continues to battle economic recession, the President Muhammadu Buhari led Federal Government has proposed to fund part of the 2017 budget deficit of N2.69 trillion from monies recovered from looters.
According to reports, FG in a Medium Term Expenditure Framework/Fiscal Strategy Paper submitted to the National Assembly is proposing to spend the sum of N6.86tn in 2017, with total revenue of N4.16tn.
With a funding gap of N2.69tn, the government said part of the deficit would be financed with recoveries from looted funds, the rest would be from borrowings.
“Based on the revenue and expenditure estimates, the fiscal deficit is estimated to increase by about N492bn or 22.32 per cent from the estimate of N2.2tn in 2016. “However, while this remains below the maximum three per cent of the Gross Domestic Product stipulated in the Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2007, it is projected to take a downward turn afterwards.
“The deficit is to be financed mainly by borrowing as well as recoveries of misappropriated public funds/assets.” “Borrowing will be geared towards funding critical capital projects that have potential to effectively increase productivity, and hence, provide mechanism for refinancing the debt,” the document read in part.
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