Federal government plans to borrow 722.53 billion naira ($1.76 billion) from domestic capital markets for additional security spending, Finance Minister Zainab Ahmed said on Wednesday.

As part of Nigeria’s security spending, the World Bank also agreed to allow the government to restructure existing loans of N39.58 billion to supplement the funds, she told reporters after a cabinet meeting.

The cabinet also approved an allocation of N83.56 billion for the purchase and deployment of 30 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine.

Nigeria hopes to receive 70 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson shots from the African Union, but purchasing the doses required a supplementary budget, as no provision was made for vaccinations in the 2021 finance bill adopted in December.

Reuters