After activating the 2020 budget implementation, the Federal Government has proposed to spend ₦11.86 trillion in 2021.
Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, made this revelation while presenting the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) 2021-2023 in Abuja on Friday.
Notwithstanding this adventurous spending projection, Zainab Ahmed also stated that the country’s fiscal futunes will suffer a deficit of ₦5.16 trillion because of the government’s projected ability to generate only ₦6.98 trillion revenue all in 2021.
Interestingly, while the Naira has been devalued to ₦380/$, the minister of finance has pegged exchange rate in the 2021 fiscal year at ₦360/$.
The 2021-2023 MTEF/FSP is the pre budget statement that provides the framework for the development of the 2021 Budget.
Zainab Ahmed said “it is being framed against the backdrop of a challenging global macroeconomic environment as well as domestic factors.”
The government she said will “aim to keep the deficit within the 3% ceiling over the medium term, and are therefore working on identifying new revenue sources and/or cost reductions.”
The draft 2021 – 2023 MTEF/FSP she noted “has been prepared against the backdrop of heightened global economic uncertainty.”
According to her, “the medium-term outlook for Nigeria suggests that fiscal risks are somewhat elevated, largely due to Covid-19 related disruptions which have exacerbated structural weaknesses in the economy.”