President Bola Tinubu is seeking additional loan of $800 million from the World Bank for the National Social Safety Net Programme after paying off $500million Eurobond facility. This development will increase Nigeria public debt by about $200million if the loan is granted. The President has written to lawmakers seeking approval for the Federal government to take the loan.
Under the programme, the Federal Government will pay N8,000 to 12 million families over a period of six months to ameliorate the hardships of Nigerians as a result of subsidy removal. In a letter to the House read by Speaker Tajudeen Abbas during plenary, Tinubu said the support was to enable poor and vulnerable Nigerians to cope with the cost of meeting basic needs. The President said this would have a multiplier effect on about 60 million individuals. He said that in order to guarantee the credibility of the process, digital transfers would be made directly to beneficiaries’ accounts.
