Uche Usim, Abuja
The coronavirus pandemic has forced the Federal Government to delay the issuance of its $3.3 billion eurobond as offshore subscribers have jettisoned financial transactions to contain the dreaded virus.
The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed disclosed this on Monday in Abuja during an interview at the sidelines of the international conference on commodities exchange.
According to her, “the decision to delay the issuance of the bond was based on the conviction that the global economy was going through challenging times due to the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic”.
Ahmed said the delay was totally inevitable, regardless of whether the request was approved by the National Assembly or not, as the global economic environment was in disarray.
She said, “We are in the process of doing that and I can tell you that we are not going out immediately because of the market indication of external borrowing at this time.
“Even if we get the approval, we will defer it and watch the market and go out only when the time is right”.
On the indefinite suspension of the $22.89 billion loan request of the Federal Government by the House of Representatives, she expressed optimism that approval would be given by the lawmakers.
“The parliament is still doing its work, one arm of the parliament has completed theirs and the other is still working and it is a process that is controlled by the parliament itself, so we are waiting,” she said.
On when the government would announce the adjustment made to the 2020 budget, she said that would be done once the process of consultation is completed.
She said, “As soon as we have approvals from the President and the Federal Economic Council and also when we round off our consultation with the parliament.”
She said the unfolding events of the past few months such as the coronavirus pandemic and the oil price war, have further reinforced the resolve of the government to diversify the national economy.
She said, “It is a time to develop a non-oil attitude to anything that we do, it is a time for us to review what we have planned and to prioritize expenditure in favour of major capital expenditure that will have a greater impact that will create jobs and visibility and also enhances the ease of doing business in our country.
“Any expenditure that is not critical, we must defer to do it at a later time when things become more normal.”