Following the outbreak of the novel Coronavirus, which has taken a huge toll on Nigeria’s revenue, owing to the collapse of oil prices, the federal government has cut the 2020 budget by about N312billion from the initial N10.594 trillion.
Already, a revised version of the budget has been to the National Assembly for approval, sources said.
A copy of the revised 2020 budget, obtained by journalists on Wednesday showed that the amount represents a cut of up to 20% off the capital projects.
The decision to trim the budget was sealed at a meeting between leadership of the National Assembly, Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, and the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Mele Kyari.
The oil benchmark had been reduced from $57 per barrel to $30 per barrel, owing to the drop in oil production from about 2.17 million barrel to 1.70 million barrel. Also the exchange rate was scaled up from N305 to N360 per dollar.