President Muhammadu Buhari has again reiterated that some of the privatisation proceeds would be part of borrowings, totaling N5.01 trillion, to fund the deficit in the 2022 budget.
The President, who reiterated the fiscal option while presenting the 2022 Appropriation Bill tagged ‘Budget of Economic Growth and Sustainability’ to the joint session of the National Assembly in Abuja on Thursday, said the other source for bridging the deficit gap would be draw downs on loans secured for specific development projects totaling N1.16 trillion.
He said that the fiscal year 2022 remained very crucial in his administration’s efforts at ensuring that critical projects were completed and put to use to improve the general living conditions of Nigerians.
Buhari maintained that the loans obtained by his administration were used to finance critical development projects and programmes aimed at improving the country’s economic environment and ensuring effective delivery of public services to the people.
Specifically, he listed some of these as including the completion of major road and rail projects; effective implementation of Power sector projects; provision of potable water; construction of irrigation infrastructure and dams across the country; and critical health projects such as the strengthening of national emergency medical services and ambulance system, procurement of vaccines, polio eradication and upgrading Primary Health Care Centres across the six geopolitical zones.
The President further explained that in 2022, government would further strengthen the frameworks for concession and public private partnerships (PPPs) and that Capital projects that are good candidates for PPP by their nature would be developed for private sector participation.
