Overview

The document is the 2020 Budget Speech delivered by President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria on October 8, 2019, to the Joint Session of the National Assembly in Abuja. The speech, titled 'Budget of Sustaining Growth and Job Creation,' outlines the federal budget proposals for the 2020 fiscal year. President Buhari begins by acknowledging the National Assembly's cooperation and thanking Nigerians for re-electing his administration. He provides an overview of global and regional economic developments, noting that the IMF expects global growth to slow from 3.6% in 2018 to 3.5% in 2020 due to uncertainties from security and trade tensions, while Sub-Saharan Africa is projected to grow from 3.1% to 3.6%, driven by investor confidence, oil production recovery, and agricultural output. He reports that the Nigerian economy has recorded nine consecutive quarters of GDP growth, with annual growth increasing from 0.82% in 2017 to 1.93% in 2018 and 2.02% in the first half of 2019. Inflation has been reduced from 18.72% in January 2017 to 11.02% by August 2019, attributed to fiscal-monetary policy coordination, exchange rate stability, and foreign exchange management. External reserves rose from US$23 billion in October 2016 to about US$42.5 billion by August 2019, due to favorable crude oil prices, stable security in the Niger Delta, and import substitution. The foreign exchange market stabilized via Central Bank interventions. Capital imports increased from US$12 billion in H1 2018 to US$14 billion in H1 2019, indicating investor confidence. The speech also reviews the 2019 budget performance, though specifics are not provided in this excerpt.

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