Federal Government to inject N350 billion in capital projects

folarin okunola

September 17, 2016 11:19 AM

The finance minister also explained that the bulk of the money has already been released into on-going projects

Nigeria's Finance Minister Kemi Adeosun speaks at a news conference in Lagos, Nigeria, April 9, 2016. REUTERS/Akintunde Akinleye

The Federal Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, has announced that a sum of N350 billion capital votes will be pumped into the "system" immediately, as the Federal Government continues to battle the country's economic woes.

Adeosun, speaking at a press briefing in Abuja on Friday, insisted that the Buhari administration is not backing down on its moves to stimulate the economy.

“With the N350 billion to be released, next week, the federal government would have released the total sum of N770 billion for capital projects this year, having released N420 billion thus far in 2016,” the Minister said, at the briefing.

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The finance minister also explained that the bulk of the money has already been released into on-going projects in the following sectors: works, defence, transportation, interior, power, and agriculture.

The FG recently confirmed officially that the country is in a recession, after months of drastic downturns in the price of crude oil, Nigeria's main source of revenue, and a constant - and steady - drop in the value of the Naira.

This move to inject funds into the economy, as a way of stimulating it back to life, has been criticized by several experts, with many opining for a more long-term overhaul of the economy and diversification of the nation's revenue generation model. In the meantime, Nigerians continue to suffer from the recession and astronomical inflation.

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