Nigeria approves fiscal plan proposing $37.7 billion 2026 budget

By Camillus Eboh

ABUJA, Dec 3 (Reuters) - Nigeria's cabinet has signed off on a medium-term fiscal plan that projects spending of around 54.5 trillion naira ($37.71 billion) in 2026, its minister of budget and planning said on Wednesday.

The plan forecasts total federal revenue at 34.33 trillion naira, leaving a 20.1 trillion naira deficit, or 3.61% of GDP, with debt service costs estimated at 15.9 trillion naira, Atiku Bagudu told reporters after a cabinet meeting in Abuja.

Nonrecurrent debt expenditure is set at 15.27 trillion, underscoring the fiscal strain on Africa's most populous country.

Oil, which accounts for most of the government's foreign exchange, is benchmarked at $64.85 per barrel, with production expected to average 1.84 million barrels per day (bpd), well below a 2.06 million bpd target, Bagudu said.

The framework assumes an exchange rate of 1,512 per dollar and GDP growth of 4.68%, he said.

($1 = 1,445.4200 naira)

(Reporting by Camillus Eboh in AbujaWriting by Elisha Bala-GbogboEditing by Matthew Lewis)

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