President Muhammadu Buhari will sign a
loan deal with China during a visit next week as the Federal Government
seeks funds to finance the over N2tn budget deficit
This is expected to help the government to finance badly-needed infrastructure projects.
Speaking to Reuters, the
Special Adviser to the President on Media, Mr. Femi Adesina, said, “I
can’t tell you how much until the day the loan will be signed. Both
countries will also be signing some bilateral agreements to strengthen
their relationship; that is all I can say now.”
The economy has been hit hard by a slump
in oil prices and the Federal Government has been in talks with China’s
Export Import Bank for a loan for months.
A financial source said the loan would fund Chinese firms’ infrastructure projects in Nigeria.
In February, financial and government
sources said the loan could be as high a $2bn but officials have not
provided an update since then.
The Federal Government has said it wants
to raise about $5bn abroad to cover part of its 2016 budget deficit,
which could be as high as N3tn ($15bn).
Source: The punch
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