Buhari submits Nigeria's budget to parliament

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday submitted a revised 2020 budget of 10.51 trillion naira ($29.19 billion) to Parliament for approval.

The coronavirus pandemic and an oil price plunge have magnified headwinds in Africa’s biggest economy, which relies heavily on crude sales for government revenues. The problems triggered a decline in growth and large financing needs as well as weakening the naira currency.

The government has said since March that the budget passed in December would be revised down. It must be approved by lawmakers, who can make changes, before being sent back to the president to pass into law after he has agreed to any revisions.

Amid the steep fall in global oil prices, the government previously said this year’s budget would shrink by about 15%.

The proposal sent to both chambers of Parliament on Thursday is only marginally lower than the record 10.59 trillion naira budget approved in December by Buhari. It follows the inclusion of new items, much of which is related to healthcare as part of the country’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.

The revised budget includes local and foreign borrowing, including $5.51 billion from multilateral lenders.