FG plans extra budget for COVID-19 as vaccines arrive next week

The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, on Thursday, disclosed that the Federal Government would plan a supplementary budget to be sent to the National Assembly to provide for COVID-19 vaccines and vaccination.

Ahmed stated that the financial document would be prepared in March.

She talked at the maiden edition of State House briefing held at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Ahmed said, “There will be a supplementary budget, the first one will be in March relating the COVID-19 pandemic, but we will also have a mid-year review like we did last year of the budget.

“If at the time we do the review and there is a need to go back to do any amendment for supplementary budget, at that time, we will take that decision; if not, we will just report the review.”

Ahmed indicated that the first batch of COVID-19 vaccines will arrive the country next week when she said, “We have a provision in the 2021 budget for immunisation.

“We are already releasing money to the health authorities to start operation in the first batch of vaccines that is going to arrive the country in one week.

“But what we have in the budget is not enough, so we are working with the health authorities to provide a plan that will be taken to the President for approval and to be taken to the National Assembly as a supplementary budget specifically for COVID -19 vaccination.”

The minister added that the level of Nigeria’s borrowing is not excessively high contrary to what people believe generally.

She said, “There is a lot of sensitivity in Nigeria about the level of borrowing by the government and it is not misplaced.

“I said earlier that the level of borrowing is not unreasonable, it is not high. The problem we have is that of revenue. So, what we need to do is to increase revenue to be able to enhance our debt to GDP obligation capacity.”