LAGOS, Nigeria—When Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari presented the country’s 2019 budget at a joint session of the country’s parliamentarians at the turn of 2018, he was interrupted by boos and jeers from lawmakers as he struggled to highlight the key achievements of his administration.
Among the criticism directed at the government—and aside from issues such as poor economic growth despite relatively high crude oil prices in 2018—were the high deficit in the government’s budget as well as its heavy borrowings to cushion the effects of revenue gaps.
