Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja

President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered that made-in-Nigeria goods and products must be patronised henceforth to save the nation’s foreign exchange and also help grow the economy.

This follows the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) on the economy, which has affected 2020 budgetary provisions.

Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed, disclosed this when she briefed State House correspondents after the virtual Federal Executive Council  meeting anchored from the Council Chamber of the Presidential Villa, Abuja, yesterday.

The online FEC was in line with protocols from the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) on physical distancing as Nigeria strives to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ahmed said: “On prioritisation of made-in-Nigeria products, as you know, the President has set up an economic stimulus committee, chaired by the Vice President. The work of the committee is to develop 12 months’ economic stimulus plan and we are at the final stage of that work.

“We have prioritised spending in that plan to use and consume made in Nigeria. For example, some of the public works projects that will employ a lot of our youths (are) to be done using strictly our raw materials, so we don’t have to import bitumen, for example, to build our roads.”

On the council’s approval of contracts to Globe Motors Holdings Nigeria Limited, in the sum of N683 million for purchase of 19 operational vehicles for Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA), she said it had been in the works for months before COVID-19 pandemic.

According to Ahmed, “Some of the council memos that were given today have been in council waiting in the queue for a couple of months now. The one for transport is not new, it didn’t just come today and council felt it should go because it’s been there for a long time. But we have got approval from Mr. President that spending as much as possible should be made in Nigeria on goods and products that are produced in Nigeria, so that it saves our foreign exchange and also helps to grow the economy.”

The finance minister said the council  approved the amendments of the Medium Term Expenditure Framework for 2020-2022 as well as amendment to the 2020 budget.

According to her: “The council has approved our recommendations and the approval has these key parameters;

“The crude oil price is approved at $25 per barrel, crude oil production is at 1.94 million barrels per day and then an exchange rate of N360 to $1. The revised budget is now in the total sum of N10.523 trillion, a difference of just about N71.5 billion when compared to the approved budget. This is because, as we cut down the size of the budget, we also have to bring in new expenditure previously not budgeted, to enable us adequately respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The Federal Government, in this budget, will have direct revenue of funding the budget of N5.158 billion. The deficit to this budget is N5.365 trillion and this will be financed by both domestic as well as foreign borrowing. The foreign borrowing we are doing for 2020 are all concessionary loans from the IMF, which has already been approved and has crystallized, from the World Bank, Islamic Development as well as AFREXIM bank.

“There will also be some drawdown of previously committed loans for major ongoing projects that we will be drawing from both existing facilities as well as some special accounts, with the approval of Mr. President and the National Assembly. And also revenue that we are expecting to realise from privatisation. So, the borrowing, the multilateral loans drawdown coming from special accounts and coming from the privatisation will fund the fiscal deficit of N5.365 trillion that we have in the proposed amendment of the 2020 budget.”

Ahmed said the council also approved $80 million from the Islamic Development Bank for the construction of the Abakaliki ring road project.

“This Ebonyi ring roads connects 13 local governments in the state as well as the neigbouring Cameroon Republic. It is a major road that will provide access to the citizens in the state, to farmers, markets and will enhance economic activities in the state, and the neighbouring states will also benefit from this project.”

The finance minister said the council also approved for the Nigeria Customs Service to purchase boats that are manufactured in Nigeria for its surveillance and anti-corruption activities on Nigerian waters.

FEC also approved a loan facility of about €950,000 ($1.2bn) to finance the mechanisation of agriculture in the country. Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Sabo Nanono, said the planned mechanisation of agriculture would span 632 local governments. The loan is for the purposes of agricultural mechanisation in the country that will cover 632 local governments and 140 processing plants.

On his part, Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, said the council approved a memo for award of contract in the sum N683 million for the purchase of 19 vehicles for the NPA.

“This is the first time in four years that NPA is buying any vehicle and that is why the council said fine. These are operational vehicles; they are not for management staff; they are all Toyota vehicles,’’ he said.

Meanwhile, cabinet also approved N47 billion for the provision of additional 40 megawatts of electricity to the national grid.

Minister of Power, Saleh Mamman, said the 40 megawatts would be evacuated from Kashimbilla Dam in Taraba State, where it is currently being generated.

He said the additional 40 megawatts would boost power supply in Taraba and Benue states as well as the entire North-East region of the country.

He added that, if the generated power is not evacuated from its source, Nigeria would loose about 120 gigawatts of power, equivalent to $9 million dollars in a year.