FG Gets $800M From World Bank For Subsidy Removal Palliatives For Poor Nigerians

The Federal Government has secured the sum of $800 million from the World Bank under the National Social Investment Programme as part of palliatives to cushion the negative effects of the plan to remove subsidy on the petroleum products by June 2023.

The Minister of Finance, Budget, and National Planning, Hajiya Zainab Ahmed, announced this Wednesday while fielding questions from State House reporters after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

She said the fund which had been secured was ready for disbursement.

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Asked about the palliatives that would be put in place ahead of the removal subsidy on the premium motor spirit popularly known as petrol, the minister said: “The second question on exit of fuel subsidy, this is a commitment in the Petroleum Industry Bill. There is a provision that says that 18 months after the effectiveness of the PIA that all petroleum products must be deregulated, that 18 months takes us to June 2023.

“We’re on course, we’re having different stakeholder engagements, we’ve secured some funding from the World Bank, that is the first tranche of palliatives that will enable us give cash transfers to the most vulnerable in our society that have now been registered in a national social register. Today that register has a list of 10 million households. 10 million households are equivalent to about 50 million Nigerians.

“But we also have to raise more resources to enable us to do more than just the cash transfers and also in our engagements with the various stakeholders, the various kinds of tasks that we have go beyond the requirement of just giving cash transfers. Labour, for example, might be looking for mass transit for its members.

“So, there are several things that we are still planning and working on, some we can start executing quickly, some are more medium-term implementation.

“$800 million for the scale up of the national social investment programme (NSIP) at the World Bank and it’s secured, it’s ready for this disbursement.

“We are currently engaging with all the stakeholders. We know that various plans are being considered, including the need for buses by the Labour, amongst several other palliative measures.”