Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua will seek parliamentary approval next week for a proposed 2.67 trillion naira ($22.7 billion) budget in 2009, unchanged from a revised 2008 budget, REUTERS quoted a presidential aide as saying on Thursday. The 2009 budget in the world's eighth-biggest oil exporter had been due before parliament earlier this month, but a sharp drop in global crude prices has played havoc with key assumptions on which the spending plans are based. "Yes, it is true that the federal government is proposing a total budget of 2.67 trillion for 2009," a senior presidential aide told Reuters. "I can also confirm to you that work on the budget is finalised and will get to the National Assembly next week." Last week, the government cut the benchmark oil price in its proposed 2009 budget to $45 per barrel from $62.50 in the wake of sharp falls in world crude prices.
