Nigerian officials say the major African oil producer soon will sell $1 billion in Eurobonds to finance a budget deficit as a recession takes hold amid foreign currency shortages and double-digit inflation. The government plans to borrow $5 billion from abroad for capital infrastructure projects to boost Africa's largest economy and create jobs. The government announced this week that already some $3 billion has been secured in low-cost, long-term loans from the World Bank and the African Development Bank, with the rest expected in bilateral loans from China and Japan. Nigeria suffers from low prices of oil that provides 70 percent of government revenue. President Muhammadu Buhari has said he will seek emergency economic powers to address the crisis as some Nigerians resort to eating wild leaves and lizards. Speaking at a press conference in the nation's capital of Abuja, Finance Minister Kemi Adeosun said the government had earlier this month approved the plan to issue international debt for the first time since 2013. Adeosun said that the bonds are expected to go on sale in December, with the proceeds channelled into capital projects. "We are about to appoint our advisers. We are raising one billion dollars," Adeosun said. "I want to re-emphasise that we have a strategic plan that will take us out of the recession that we find ourselves in. We want to make sure that this recession is the shortest possible." Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari announced a record 6.1-trillion-naira ($19.4-billion) spending plan for this year's federal budget to try to stimulate growth. The government will be seeking loans from the World Bank, the African Development Bank, China Exim Bank and the Japan International Cooperation Agency. "These concessional loans will go to the strategic sectors of the economy," Adeosun said earlier in September, citing the power and agricultural sectors as a key areas of focus. Nigeria is in a recession, suffering from double-digit inflation and a massive drop in foreign investment as it struggles to undo the effects of a rigid foreign-exchange regime that led to a shortage of dollars and drained reserves. The West African country's economy is dependent on oil revenues, which have been hit by a plunge in the global price of crude and ongoing rebel attacks on infrastructure in the oil-producing southern region. — Agencies
