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President Muhammadu Buhari has asked the National Assembly to approve a $29.96 billion three-year external borrowing plan for executing key infrastructural projects across the country. The president also asked the legislature to approve a virement of N180.8 billion in the 2016 budget to fund critical recurrent and capital expenditure.

Buhari’s requests were contained in two separate letters sent to the President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara. The president’s letters were read on the floor of both chambers on Tuesday.

“It has become necessary to resort to prudent external borrowing to bridge the financing gap,” President Buhari said. “This will largely be applied to key infrastructure projects namely power, railway and roads among others.”

According to the president’s letters, the external borrowing plan is comprised of proposed projects and programmes loan of $11.274 billion; special national infrastructure projects loan of $10.686 billion; Euro bonds of $4.5 billion; and Federal Government budget support of $3.5 billion.

The president said the projects to be executed under the external borrowing plan will focus on infrastructure, agriculture, health, education, water supply, growth, and employment generation. Other targeted areas include poverty reduction through social safety net programmes, governance, and financial management reforms.

Emergency projects in the North-East, particularly efforts aimed at containing the recent outbreak of polio, will also be covered under the external borrowing plan, the president said. He disclosed that the federal government has been granted a $125 million World Bank loan to procure vaccines and other ancillary facilities to contain the polio outbreak. The World Bank has further provided $450 million to assist in the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the North-East.

According to the president’s letter, the projects to be executed in the North-East with the World Bank funding are: polio eradication support and routine immunisation ($125 million), community and social development projects ($75 million), Nigeria States and Health Programme Investment Project ($125 million), State Education Programme Investment Project ($100 million), Nigeria Youth Employment and Social Support Project ($100 million), and Fadama III Project ($50 million).

In his letter requesting for virement of N180.8 billion within the 2016 budget, President Buhari said the request arose due to shortfalls in provisions for personnel costs, inadequate provision ab initio for the amnesty programme, continuing requirements to sustain the war against insurgency, and depreciation of the naira.

The president requested for the reallocation of N166.6 billion (for recurrent expenditure) from the special intervention programme (recurrent), which has a balance of N275 billion out of the appropriated sum of N300 billion. The request also includes the reallocation of N14.2 billion (for capital expenditure) from the special intervention programme (capital), which has a balance of N145 billion out of the appropriated sum of N200 billion.

An analysis of the proposed virement expenditure shows that Public Service Wage Adjustment will cost N71.8 billion; Service Wide Vote: Contingency – N1.2 billion; Margin for Increase in Cost – N2 billion; Cadet Feeding for Police Academy, Wudil, Kano – N932.4 million; Amnesty Programme – N35 billion; and Internal Operations of the Armed Forces – N5.205 billion.

Other expense items include Operation Lafiya Dole – N13.933 billion; NYSC – N19.792 billion; Foreign Missions – N14.667 billion; and Augmentation of Meal Subsidy/Direct Teaching and Laboratory Cost – N900 million.

Statutory transfers to fund the salary shortfall in the Public Complaints Commission will cost N1.2 billion while capital expenditure for the Nigerian Air Force will cost N12.708 billion. Capital Supplementation: Presidential Initiative for the North East (PINE) will cost N1.5 billion.

The president further requested for the virement of N300 million from the budget of the Ministry of Power, Works, and Housing originally appropriated to the Transmission Company of Nigeria for the construction of a 132 KVA substation at Gwaram, Jigawa State. Buhari asked the National Assembly to reallocate the funds for the construction of two 60MVA 132/33 in Gagarawa, Jigawa State.