Feb 15 Nigeria has not decided yet how
much it wants to borrow from the World Bank, its budget minister
said on Wednesday, to help pay for record spending of $24
billion this year.
Diplomats and officials told Reuters last week the oil
producer plans to present the required economic reform proposals
to the World Bank this month to borrow at least $1 billion.
"The figure will depend on the (2017) budget approved by the
National Assembly," Udoma Udo Udoma, minister for budget and
national planning, told reporters when asked about the
application.
"We are waiting for the passage of the budget by the
National Assembly so that we will know the budget gap or the
actual deficit before we can go to the World Bank for loan."
Nigeria, which relies on oil revenue for most of its income,
is struggling to drag itself out of its first recession for 25
years. It needs to plug a gap in its record 7.3 trillion naira
2017 budget aimed at stimulating the economy.
It had planned to apply for a World Bank loan last year but
the process ground to a halt because it failed to submit its
economic recovery plans by the end of December as initially
promised, sources told Reuters last month.
The African Development Bank (AfDB) has been holding back
the second, $400 million, tranche of a $1 billion loan because
it is also awaiting a reform plan from the government.
Nigeria will present its economic proposals to the AfDB at
the same time as the World Bank, government officials said last
week.
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