President Obasanjo approves big budget

President Obasanjo of Nigeria has signed next year's budget into law at a ceremony in the capital, Abjua, after reaching agreement with both houses of parliament.

The budget envisages expenditure of eight-billion dollars.

Correspondents say that while the president managed to avoid the delays of the last budget, caused by a dispute with parliament, the International Monetary Fund is likely to object to the projections of high capital spending.

Nigeria is under a debt rescheduling agreement with the IMF, and its approval of the budget is considered crucial.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service