The Federal Government says the contribution of non-oil revenue to financing the federal budget has risen to 73 percent.
In light of this, Zainab Ahmed, Minister of Finance, Budget, and National Planning, stated that Nigeria is in good economic standing and is not bankrupt.
Speaking at the sixth edition of President Muhammadu Buhari’s Scorecard in Abuja on Thursday, the minister said the country had experienced two recessions during the Buhari administration.
“The non-oil revenue share of funding the Federal Government – we’ve been able to succeed in turning it around (from) the non-oil revenues contributing 30-35 percent to the federal budget,” she said.
“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.”
She stated that with the support of the president, the Federal Government had been able to disburse N5.03 trillion and an additional $3.4 billion to states over the course of the Buhari administration.
“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,” she added.
The Federal Government, in January, projected a revenue target of N10.7trillion for the 2022 fiscal year.
Ahmed, who spoke during the public presentation and breakdown of the highlights of 2022 Appropriation Bill, said 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 proceed from privitisation.