Nigeria suspends plans to borrow $22.7bn   

The Federal Government of Nigeria on Monday said it has put on hold plans to raise $22.7 billion through the international capital market and multilateral institutions due to the current market reality due to the outbreak of coronavirus and the sharp drop in global oil prices.

Minister of Finance and Budget,  Mrs Zainab Ahmed who broke the news at a conference in Abuja said the current reality in the global economic landscape was not favourable for the exercise

Ahmed said the government is no longer willing to go ahead with the debt issuance even if it secures the approval of the National Assembly.

The Senate had two weeks ago gave its approval for the government to go ahead to raise the fund from external sources to finance some infrastructural projects across the country but the House of Representatives has suspended decision on the debt.

The Minister noted that the government decided to suspend the borrowing programme due to the fact that market indices do not support external borrowings at the moment.

“The parliament is still doing its work on the borrowing plan. One arm of the parliament has completed theirs and the other arm is still working and it is a process that is controlled by the parliament itself, so we are waiting.

“However, we are not going out immediately because the market indication is not in favour of external borrowing at this time. Even if we get approvals we will defer it and watch the market and go out only when the timing is right,” Ahmed said.

She, however, said the government will continue to focus on its plans to diversify the country’s economy, saying the unfolding events of the past few months, the coronavirus pandemic and the oil price war, had further reinforced the resolve to diversify the economy.

The current challenges in the global economy had brought to the fore the need for the country to develop a non-oil attitude to everything, Ahmed said.