An advance team headed by the finance minister is expected to travel to Negotiate the loan and President Buhari would travel to China to sign the loan in March. President Muhamadu Buhari recently presented an ambitious budget to Nigeria’s parliament. At 30 Billion dollars, it is the highest Budget proposal in Nigeria’s history.
Analysts think Buhari’s administration is attempting to spend its way out of recession by investing a huge chunk of the budget in infrastructure but he doesn’t have access to funds for that. The deficit stands at $5 billion for now but it could rise up to $15 as Buhari’s administration plans to spend billions on infrastructure and uplifting social service.
Nigeria’s economy has been contracting consistently for more than a year – Rapidly falling oil prices taking a toll on the economy.Crude oil accounts for 90% of the country’s exports and 70% of its earnings.
Development expert Jayi Gaskia thinks Nigeria needs the loans for immediate budgetary support but a major bailout could be imminent unless a resurgence in crude oil prices happens soon.
Last year Nigeria barely escaped a recession – experiencing double negative growth in succession. It is currently grappling with a shortage of foreign currency- with the Naira trading at 334 to a dollar in the parallel market although the central bank has kept the official exchange rate at 197.
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