In 2023, the Federal Government reports that N3.36 trillion has been set aside for fuell subsidies as Nigeria’s debt profile reaches $102 billion.
This information was provided by Zainab Ahmed, the Minister of Finance, on Wednesday in Abuja. She also stated that the proposed 2023 budget has a 10.78 trillion naira budget deficit.
According to her, funding for this will come from local, and international borrowing as well as earnings from privatisation.
She claims that of Nigeria’s $102 billion in debt, 35 percent is foreign and 65 percent is domestic, and that the present public debt is equal to 23 percent of the nation’s GDP.
The minister added that inflation of 17.16 percent was also taken into account in the 2023 budget.
She claims that the draft 2023 budget was created against the backdrop of global issues like the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war. She also claims that revenue generation has been a significant obstacle to the nation’s development.
She stated that N1.58 trillion is allotted for health, and N2.05 trillion is dedicated to education, two essential sectors.
According to her, infrastructure received N998.9 billion, social development and poverty reduction received N756 billion, and N2.74 trillion was allotted for defense and security.