By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, says the National Assembly has approved a $500 million Eurobond sale.
Addressing journalists in Abuja, Mrs Adeosun disclosed that details of the Eurobond issuance would be released later.
The Federal Government approached the legislative arm of government to seek its approval to raise a new issue after raising an oversubscribed $1 billion Eurobond in February 2017.
It plans to increase public spending by almost 20 percent this year with a deficit of N2.36 trillion ($7.7 billion).
The increase in public spending follows the Nigerian economy’s first annual contraction in 25 years in 2016. The slump in global oil prices has reduced government revenues and battered the Naira.
Shortly after the books opened on the February bond, Nigeria had received bids of over $1 billion for the paper due 2032.
Priced at 7.875 percent, it was almost eight times oversubscribed.
The government has laid out plans for 2017 to spend a record N7.3 trillion ($24 billion) to help pull Nigeria out of recession. It planned to spend N6.1 trillion last year, but struggled to fund it.
Adedapo Adesanya