In quest of an $800 million loan from the World Bank to soften the impact of fuel subsidy removal on the economy, President Muhammadu Buhari has written a letter to the Senate, seeking approval for the application.
It will be recalled that the Federal Government had announced plans to access an $800 million World Bank grant targeting 50 million vulnerable Nigerians or ten million households, as part of its subsidy palliative measures.
Zainab Ahmed, Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning said the disbursement is planned at cushioning the intended subsidy removal slated for June 2023.
She further stated that engagements are on with the newly established Presidential Transition Council (PTC) and the incoming administration, to drive the palliative program, which includes the need to provide affordable bus transportation to the public.
The Federal Government had come under criticism concerning the loan request. A non-governmental organisation, the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) last Friday lamented what it described as the nonchalant attitude displayed by the Buhari administration towards the country’s crippling debt crisis.
Auwal Musa-Rafsanjani, Executive Director of CISLAC, ,queried the Federal Government over the loan request, adding that borrowing to fund post-fuel subsidy removal palliatives was ill informed.
Rasfanjani queried, “if the fuel subsidy removal process has been suspended as announced by the Minister of Finance, after the NEC meeting at the end of April, then the government should return the borrowed money because what are we taking the loan for?”
He argued that fears of the country getting another $800 million loan from the World Bank send waves of worryin the minds of Nigerians as Nigeria’s revenue collection in 2022 stood at N10 trillion, with a debt of about N77 trillion.
The National Economic Council (NEC) on April 27 suspended the planned removal of subsidy on petroleum products by the end of the Buhari administration.
The NEC comprises the 36 state governors, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and other co-opted government officials.
The finance minister, who announced the decision, stated that the council concluded in its recently concluded meeting that it was not a favourable time for the action.
According to her, the NEC deliberated on the matter and resolved that it cannot be removed for now.
She added that it equally agreed on the need to continue the discussion on the matter and the necessary preparatory work in conjunction with states and representatives of the incoming administration.
