ABUJA — Nigeria plans to narrow its budget deficit to roughly 3.9% of gross domestic product, GDP next year from about 6.1% this year, President Bola Tinubu said on Wednesday.
Tinubu, who has embarked on Nigeria's boldest reforms in decades, is trying to balance efforts to cushion the impact of double-digit inflation and the removal of a fuel subsidy in May by keeping spending in check.
In his first budget speech to lawmakers, Tinubu projected that higher oil production and tax collection would boost government revenues and his administration would borrow slightly less next year.
The budget presented on Wednesday forecast $34.85 billion of expenditure in 2024, with spending priorities including security, infrastructure and measures to ease a cost-of-living crisis.
Tinubu said the economy was expected to grow by at least 3.76% next year while inflation would moderate to 21.4%.