Business

Nigeria to cut budget in face of oil price crash -finance minister

Nigeria will cut size of its budget in the face of sharp declines in the price of crude oil, the nation’s finance minister told reporters on Monday.

Zainab Ahmed, speaking in Abuja after a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari, said a committee including herself, the minister of state for petroleum, the head of state oil company NNPC and the central bank governor would determine the size of the budget cut in the coming days and revisit the benchmark crude oil price of $57 a barrel used to calculate the budget.

Benchmark Brent crude futures were down 19.5% at $36.43 a barrel by 1449 GMT. Reuters

Pix: Zainab Ahmed, Finance Minister