This is due to a wider-than-projected budget deficit forcing the government to raise significantly more financing than originally planned
According to the latest Fourth Quarter and Consolidated Budget Implementation Report for 2024, the Federal Government’s new borrowings rose to N12.62tn, exceeding the budgeted N7.83tn by N4.79tn, or 61.2 per cent.
The higher borrowing requirement followed a substantial revenue shortfall, which pushed the fiscal deficit to N13.51tn, well above the approved deficit of N9.18tn.
The report showed that aggregate Federal Government revenue stood at N20.98tn, compared with the budget estimate of N25.88tn, representing a shortfall of N4.90tn.
Total expenditure, however, amounted to N34.49tn, only N561.29bn below the approved estimate of N35.06tn, indicating that the wider fiscal gap was driven primarily by weaker revenue rather than higher spending.
The report read, “The revenue and expenditure outturn of the Federal Government resulted in a fiscal deficit of N13.51tn in the 2024 fiscal year. This was N4.34tn (47.33 per cent) above the projected budget deficit estimate for the year.”
It added that the deficit also exceeded the N10.55tn recorded in 2023, showing the increasing pressure on the country’s public finances.
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