The Federal Government on Saturday said the sale of national assets were needed to fund the 2016 budget.

This is contained in a statement issued by the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udo Udoma through his Media Adviser, Mr Akpandem James.

Udoma said the sale was necessary as the government had lost almost half of its expected revenue this year.

The minister said the lack of revenue is the reason behind the Economic Management Team’s decision to authorise the sale, as it would provide the needed funds to stimulate the economy.

According to Udoma the funds would be injected through proceeds of asset sales, advance payment for license rounds, infrastructure concessioning, use of recovered funds, among others, to reduce the funding gap.

He said government was more concerned about reviving the economy than selling off some of the nation’s critical assets.

Oludolapo Adelana

Dolapo is a writer and journalist who works with YNaija. He has interests in Christianity, politics and sports.