NIGERIA’s president asked parliament to approve 895.8 billion naira ($2.18 billion) as extra budgetary provision to fund the purchase of Covid-19 vaccines and military equipment, according to a letter seen by Reuters on Tuesday.
The government has said it will draw up a supplementary budget to cover the cost of COVID-19 vaccinations, for which no provision was made in the 2021 finance bill adopted in December.
Nigeria had planned to spend 13.6 trillion naira ($33.10 billion) in 2021, up 21% from the previous year.
President Muhammadu Buhari proposed to fund 45.63 billion naira of the 83.56 billion naira required for the COVID-19 vaccine by drawing on existing World Bank loans as well as other grants totalling $113.22 million.
“The availability of COVID-19 vaccines and the procurement terms were still uncertain at the time of finalizing the 2021 budget,” Buhari said in his letter to parliament.
Nigeria plans to issue
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