The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Wale Edun, has said that the country cannot rely on borrowing to fund the 2024 budget.
He pointed out that what was required at this time was for the nation to make necessary sacrifices, improve on its revenue generation and drastically reduce its current unsustainable deficit financing.
Edun revealed this on Thursday when he appeared before the joint Senate Committee interrogating the 2024-2026 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper chaired by Senator Sani Musa.
The minister appeared before the Senate panel in company of the Executive Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS, Zacch Adedeji and the Director General of the Debt Management Office, Patience Oniha.
He spoke before the lawmakers asked journalists out of the meeting room to allow for a closed session.
During his remarks, the minister explained that the best way for the nation to fund its annual budget was to invest more on infrastructure, which could in turn generate the much-needed revenue.
He emphasized that in advanced nations of the world, governments had increased interest rates because of the desire to bring down inflation and stabilise their economy.
According to him, accessing foreign loans at this time will be a very expensive venture for a developing nation like Nigeria.
