Who

Minister of State for Budget and Planning Udoma Udo-Udoma; Minister for Finance Kemi Adeosun.

What

Budget minister Udoma Udo-Udoma has said the government's projected revenue has fallen short by US$3.3 billion so far this year—about 55% of the US$5.4 billion projection.  Udoma said government has partly bridged the revenue gap by domestic borrowing to the tune of USD2 billion. 

When & Where

Udoma talked about this at an event on 25 July 2016 to unveil his ministry's 2017–2019 Medium Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy (MTEF), which will guide budget implementation over the years.

Why

The minister ascribed the shortfall to oil base attacks and the slow economy. He said, "Oil revenues fell significantly in the second quarter compared to the first quarter as a result of increased oil pipeline vandalism and production shut-ins. Non-oil revenues also declined compared with forecasts in the budget due to slow-down in economic activities and the acute shortage of foreign exchange."1

Outlook

Last week finance minister Kemi Adeosun herself admitted that Nigeria is now in a recession. The struggling economy will continually affect government's non-oil income such as taxes and duties this year, and with no end in sight yet for the militancy currently disrupting oil output, the inflow of petrodollars will also continue to take a hit—forcing government to tighten up on spending and 

Last weekend for instance, it leaked that the Athletics Federation of Nigeria had suggested to athletes that they should pay for their own flights to Brazil for the Olympics. The sports minister Solomon Dalung had previously said this month that government hadn't released funds for the teams, because of "the financial situation in the country."2

Footnotes

1 http://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2016/07/25/fg-records-n1-064trn-half-year-revenue-shortfall/#14695122302521&event=tpLoaded&height=582&cb=false

2 http://www.premiumtimesng.com/sports/nigeria-sports-news/206832-no-funds-yet-nigerias-olympics-team-buhari-yet-approve-release.html

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.