Nigeria plans to mobilize about $5 billion of external loans, a Eurobond included, to finance its budget deficit, minister of Finances, Kemi Adeosun (picture), said on January 21.

“Our total borrowing expectations are now at 1.8 trillion naira ($9.1 billion)”, the minister wrote in an article entitled Nigeria’s Economy: The Road to Recovery, which was circulated by her ministry. “We hope to raise approximately $4.5 to 5 billion from multiple external sources. This includes multilateral agencies, export credit agencies and we are also planning to tap the Eurobond market“, she continues.

Nigeria’s economy being crippled due to the significant drop in the prices of oil is now trying to turn the corner by adopting, this year, budget which favors public investments.

Compared to 2015, Nigeria’s investment expenditures tripled in 2016 to N1,800 billion, which represents 30% of budget of N6,090 billion (about 30.8 million dollars). The minister of Finance in regard to this said government was not going to cut investment planned in the State’s budget for 2016 despite the continuing fall in oil price.