Buhari further pushed Nigeria into $800m World Bank loan few days before office

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A member of the House of Representatives Committee on Loans, Aids and Debt Management, Abubakar Yunusa Ahmad, said the $800 million World Bank loan request of President Muhammadu Buhari has been approved.

The lawmaker disclosed this during a Channels Television interview on Friday.

He said that the Buhari administration would not utilise the loan, saying the incoming government would deploy its approach to utilise the loan.


According to Ahmad: “The $800 million — there were so many talks that we did, especially with the loan committee, and we advised them: ‘First, leave this thing to the incoming government.

“But since the loan has been granted, we can collect. If we cannot use it, the incoming government may have a different approach to issues, unlike this government.

“They probably intended not to use any of Buhari’s ministers because they have already taken them to have underperformed.

“So, the issue is, we have granted that loan; it is approved. We want Nigerians to take it. But this outgoing government will not utilise it. If the incoming government comes, we will also see their own template.”

Earlier, President Buhari, in a letter to the National Assembly, requested the approval of the $800 million World Bank loan.

The federal government had announced its intention to take the loan to cushion the effect of fuel subsidy removal.

However, various groups, including the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) and Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) have kicked against taking the $800 million World Bank loan.