Nigeria proposes N200 bln bonds to cover 2020 budget shortfalls

By Oludare Mayowa

Nigeria plans to raise between N160 -N200 billion in sovereign bonds on the domestic debt market for the rest of the year, according to the Debt Management Office (DMO) notice.

The debt office said it will sell between N80 and N100 billion worth of the 15-year and 25-year bonds on November 18 and December 16, respectively as part of efforts to raise cash to plug the deficit in the 2020 budget.

Nigeria issue bonds on a monthly basis to raise cash to plug the gap in its budget and also help set benchmark for local debt issuance.

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The debt office had proposed to raise N1.5 trillion to support the government in financing this year’s budget and reduce the impact of the shortfall in revenue from crude oil exports and internally generated revenue.

Nigeria’s proposed to spend about N10.9 trillion this year with around N5 trillion deficit embedded in the spending estimate, which the government plans to plug through both domestic and external borrowing.