The Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed, has revealed that under the President Muhammadu Buhari Federal Government the contribution of non-oil revenue to financing the national budget has risen from 30-35 percent to now 73 percent,
She revealed this on Thursday, while speaking at the sixth edition of President Muhammadu Buhari’s Scorecard, in Abuja.
Her words: “The non-oil revenue share of funding the Federal Government, we have been able to succeed in turning it around (from) the non-oil revenues contributing 30-35 percent to the federal budget.
“Now, it is 73 percent financing of the Federal budget and that is very significant. That is to emphasise that the non-oil sector is growing and contributing significantly, and that is what is really holding the economy now. It is the oil sector that is lagging behind.”
The Finance Minister added that with the support of the President, the Federal Government has been able to disburse N5.03 trillion and an additional $3.4 billion to States, over the course of the President Buhari administration.
She noted: “Each of these payments has distinct payment terms. Some of them are grants, some of them are very soft loans with very low interest rates, as well as very long tenures to enable the States to manage their economies well and contribute to the growth of the nation.”
Recall, that the Federal Government, had in January, projected a revenue target of N10.7 trillion for the 2022 fiscal year.
Ahmed, who spoke during the public presentation and breakdown of the highlights of the 2022 Appropriation Bill, said that the figure was 32 percent higher than the N8.1 trillion projected in 2021.
The bill indicated an expected N3.6 trillion in debt servicing.
The Minister explained that the 2022 budget had a deficit of N6.3 trillion, and would be financed from domestic, foreign, multi-lateral loans and proceeds from privitisation.
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