The Nigerian Senate Thursday passed the new budget for 2020, the review of which was necessitated by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic that has adversely affected oil prices and revenue projections of the government.

Members of the upper legislative chamber passed the budget, sent by President Muhammadu Buhari, during plenary. This comes a day after members of the House of Representatives approved.

The approved ₦10.8 trillion 2020 budget is ₦300 billion more than the revised version that was originally submitted by the President. It also increases the projected oil price by $3 a barrel – from $25 per barrel to $28 per barrel.

In the budget, the government allocates ₦500 billion as intervention funds for the fight against COVID-19, while the health sector got ₦186 billion.

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