“The Senate may wish to note that the past administration approved a 2022-2024 borrowing plan by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) held on May 15, 2023. The project cuts across all sectors, with specific emphasis on infrastructure, agriculture, health, water supply, roads, security, and employment generation as well as financial management reforms. Consequently, the required approval is in the sum of $8,699,168,559 and €100 million. I would like to underscore the fact that the projects and programmes in the borrowing plan were selected based on economic evaluations as well as the expected contribution to the social economic development of the country, including employment generation, and skills acquisition.
“Given the nature of these facilities, and the need to return the country to normalcy, it has become necessary for the Senate to consider and approve the 2022- 2024 external abridged borrowing plan to enable the government deliver its responsibility to Nigerians.”
The Senate President referred the letter to the Senate Committee on Foreign and Local Debts.
Meanwhile, the President has forwarded the Federal Capital Territory Supplementary Budget to House for consideration.
He will present the 2024 budget to the National Assembly on Wednesday.
The Federal Executive Council (FEC) had approved a 2024 budget of N27.5 trillion following the review of the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) earlier passed by the National Assembly which benchmarked the exchange rate at N700 to $1 and crude oil price at $73.96 cent per barrel.
Abubakar Bagudu, Minister of Budget and Economic Planning told State House reporters on Monday that FEC revised the MTEF and the Fiscal Policy to use an exchange rate of N750 to $1 and also a benchmark crude oil reference price of $77.96 per barrel.
Bagudu explained that the FEC also approved an Appropriation Bill for 2024 with an aggregate expenditure of N27.5 trillion, an increase of over N1.5 trillion from the previously estimated.