Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, has stated that the government requires additional borrowing to finance its budget, despite some Ministries, Departments, and Agencies exceeding their revenue targets.
Edun shared this during an interactive session with the Senate Joint Committees on Finance, National Planning, and Economic Affairs, discussing the 2025-2027 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper.
He explained that while revenue collection efforts have been positive, further improvements are needed, and the government must borrow in a productive, efficient, and sustainable manner.
“The revenue effort has been good, but we still need to do better, and in the meantime, we still need to borrow productively, effectively and sustainably. Not just infrastructure but also social services, health services, education and intervention in terms of social safety net to help the poorest and most vulnerable,” Edun said.
Similarly, Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Atiku Bagudu, emphasized the necessity of borrowing to cover the N9.7 trillion deficit in the N35.5 trillion 2024 budget.
“Despite revenue targets surpassed by some of the revenue generating agencies, the government still needs to borrow for proper funding of the budget, particularly in the area of deficit and productivity for the poorest and most vulnerable,” he noted, further highlighting the government’s long-term development goal of achieving a GDP per capita of $33,000 by 2050.
On the issue of funding, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, informed the committee that the EFCC had recovered over N197 billion since January 2024, emphasizing that improved revenue collection could potentially ensure adequate funding for the budget.
In a similar vein, Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Bashir Adeniyi, reported that the Customs had generated N5.352 trillion in revenue, surpassing its N5.09 trillion target for the 2024 fiscal year.
For the next three years, Customs projects a 10% annual increase in revenue targets, reaching N6.3 trillion in 2025.
Additionally, Group CEO of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Mele Kyari, disclosed that the company had exceeded its 2024 revenue projection of N12.3 trillion, reaching N13.1 trillion. Looking ahead, NNPCL expects to remit N23.7 trillion into the federation account in 2025.
Furthermore, the Federal Inland Revenue Service, Chairman, Zacch Adedeji, revealed that FIRS had surpassed its revenue targets across various tax categories.
In a related development, the Nigerian Senate approved a loan request of N1.77 trillion, $2.2 billion, from President Bola Tinubu, which is part of a new external borrowing plan to address the N9.7 trillion budget deficit for the 2024 fiscal year.
The loan was approved after a voice vote, following a report presented by the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debts, chaired by Senator Wammako Magatarkada, APC, Sokoto North.
