Wale Edun, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, has stated that the Nigerian government requires additional borrowings to finance its budget, even though some Ministries, Departments, and Agencies have exceeded their revenue targets.
Gatekeepers News reports that the announcement was made during an interactive session with the Senate Joint Committees on Finance, National Planning, and Economic Affairs, where they discussed the 2025-2027 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper.
Edun emphasised that any borrowing undertaken must be productive and efficient, highlighting the importance of the Senate’s approval for adequate budget funding.
“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 all in the name of investing in a Nigerian economy.
“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.
Meanwhile, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Revenue Mobilization and Fiscal Commission maintain that if the Federal Government is serious, there would be no need to borrow to fund the nation’s budget.
The Chairman of EFCC, Ola Olukoyede, who told the committee that it has recovered over N197 billion since January 2024, noted that if the government works hard and derives the requisite collection from the IOC, the country would have enough to fund the budget.
The Comptroller General of Nigeria Customs Service, Bashir Adeniyi, in his presentation, disclosed that the Customs has raked in N5.352 trillion in revenue above the N5.09 trillion target for the 2024 fiscal year.
He added that N6.3 trillion is targeted as projected revenue for 2025, a 10% increase of which would be the revenue target for 2026 and an additional 10% increase for the 2027 fiscal year.
The Group Chief Executive Officer, of Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari, in his presentation, said the company exceeded the N12.3 trillion revenue projected for 2024 by already raking in N13.1 trillion.
“For the 2025 fiscal year, N23.7 trillion is projected by NNPCL to be remitted into the federation account “, he said.
The Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Zacch Adedeji, in his presentation, also informed the joint committees that FIRS had surpassed targeted revenues across the various tax components.
On Thursday, the Senate approved the ₦1.77 trillion ($2.2b) loan request of President Bola Tinubu after a voice vote.
