June 27, (THEWILL) – The World Bank on Tuesday, said the $800 million loan to Nigeria was approved in December 2021.
The bank’s Country Director in Nigeria, Dr Shubham Chaudhuri, who disclosed on Tuesday, said the loan was delayed, as former President, Muhammadu Buhari, soft-pedalled on the fuel subsidy removal until his last days in office.
President Buhari had in a letter to the Senate, sought approval for $800 million loan from the World Bank, to cushion the effects of subsidy removal.
The immediate past Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, had said the disbursement of the fund was in light of the planned subsidy removal in June 2023.
While President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on May 29, announced the removal of the petrol subsidy, Chaudhuri said the funds will be channelled into ameliorating the effects of the subsidy removal on the poor and vulnerable.
He also expressed support for the Federal Government’s subsidy removal and the exchange rate unification.
Chaudhuri said the policy, though painful, remains key to rebuilding the economy of the nation.
