November 10, (THEWILL) – The Federal Government has asked the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for a loan of around N1.7 trillion to help it fund the 2023 supplementary budget, two sources familiar with the development told THEWILL on Thursday and Friday.
President Bola Tinubu signed the N2.17 trillion supplementary budget into law on November 8, 2023.
THEWILL gathered that the Ways and Means advance request has thrown the Governor of the Central Bank, Olayemi Cardoso, into a dilemma due to the controversies surrounding the previous loans granted to the Federal Government by the apex bank during the presidency of Muhammadu Buhari, which stood at about N22.7 trillion on May 29, 2023, when the administration ended.
Ways and Means is a short-term or emergency loan provision that allows the government to borrow from the CBN to meet budget shortfalls. The 6-month-old Tinubu administration has introduced reforms it hopes will help spur productivity and improve government receipts.
One of the sources, asking to be anonymous, said the request for the loan was made by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun.
When THEWILL contacted Mr Edun for clarification and clarity on the development, he said the CBN was in a better position to respond to questions on the matter, adding that he is abroad and may not be fully up to speed on developments.
CBN’s Director of Corporate Communications, Dr. Isa Abdulmumin, was unavailable for comments on the subject.
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