Nigeria Seeks Loans

ABUJA: Nigeria is seeking loans from the World Bank, the African Development Bank (AfDB) and other lenders to help cover this year’s
massive budget deficit, the government and bank officials said. The deficit is projected at 2.2 trillion naira ($11 billion, 10 billion euros) out of a total budget of 6.08 trillion naira, they said late Monday, confirming projections first given in President Muhammadu Buhari’s December budget announcement. The budget plan, which includes sharply increased spending to stimulate the economy, calls for 1.8 trillion naira to be covered by borrowing from multilateral organisations — which the government believes is the cheapest funding option.