The World Bank has been requested “to suspend any disbursement of the $800 million loan to the Federal Government and to request the incoming administration to provide satisfactory explanations for the loan,” according to the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project.
Major General Muhammadu Buhari’s (ret.) administration will end by the end of May. Therefore SERAP encourages World Bank President Mr. David Malpass “to reopen discussion” to explain the purpose and usage of the loan during the last months of Buhari’s administration.
Eyewitness9ja reported that the Federal Government had obtained an $800 million loan from the World Bank to provide post-petroleum subsidy palliatives for more than 50 million Nigerians before the proposed removal of subsidies in June 2023. This information was provided to State House correspondents last week by the Minister of Finance, Budget, and National Planning.
The organization stated in a letter dated May 13, 2023. It was signed by Kolawole Oluwadare, Deputy Director of SERAP, that “The World Bank should abide by its Articles of Agreement in disbursing any loans. “Suspending any disbursement of the loan to the government would reduce the risks and vulnerability to corruption and mismanagement,” the bank said, “but it should not compromise international standards in a rush to disburse the $800 million loan to the government.”
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The Buhari-led FG’s desire to use the loan “while it has barely two weeks to leave office and when the project objectives and intended purposes for which the loan is reportedly approved and will be disbursed remains unclear,” according to SERAP, has raised concerns.
The necessity for the loan at this time has not been effectively justified or explained by the government, especially in light of the ambiguity surrounding its intended purpose, the heavy debt load, and the disproportionately detrimental effects of these regressive policies on the poor of Nigeria.
The World Bank was encouraged by SERAP not to “close its eyes to this important transparency, accountability, and human rights issues,” adding that the National Economic Council halted the elimination of petroleum product subsidies before the end of Buhari’s administration on April 27.
The group threatened to file a lawsuit “should the World Bank refuse to suspend the disbursement of the loan to the Federal Government and to implement the other recommendations contained in this letter, and we may join the government in any such suit.”
