Nigeria’s chief presents a $34 billion spending plan that prioritizes the economic system and safety

ABUJA, Nigeria — Nigeria’s chief on Wednesday introduced a 27.5 trillion naira ($34.8 billion) spending plan for 2024 to federal lawmakers, with a deal with stabilizing Africa’s largest however ailing economic system and tackling the nation’s lethal safety disaster.

The first goal of the proposed price range is to maintain the “sturdy basis for sustainable financial growth” that the brand new authorities has set in movement, President Bola Tinubu mentioned in Abuja, the capital. Lawmakers plan to deliberate earlier than voting on the plan.

Tinubu projected the economic system would develop by no less than 3.76% subsequent yr and listed infrastructure and social welfare packages among the many authorities’s priorities to scale back hardship within the nation of greater than 210 million folks.

Throughout his six months in workplace, Tinubu launched financial reforms that the federal government mentioned would develop the economic system and appeal to extra overseas funding. These reforms — together with the removing of expensive fuel subsidies — have as an alternative worsened the hardship for a lot of within the West African nation the place surging inflation of 27.3% is already squeezing households.

The 2024 spending plan additionally would deal with bettering the capability of overstretched safety forces to struggle the extremist violence and insurgent assaults which have destabilized Nigeria’s north for greater than a decade, Tinubu mentioned.

No less than 8.25 trillion naira ($10.4 billion) within the proposed price range was earmarked to service Nigeria’s excessive debt. Virtually the identical quantity is deliberate for capital expenditures, highlighting as soon as once more the issue the nation has confronted for years as mortgage repayments proceed to restrict financing for key tasks.

“Projected debt service is 45% of the anticipated complete income” subsequent yr, the president mentioned.

He added that the federal government will deal with better transparency and accountability and work extra carefully with growth companions and the personal sector to enhance its effectiveness.